Mabel Eleanora Graeff

Mabel Eleanora McComber Graeff, 93, formerly of Gordon, Nebraska, passed away Tuesday, August 9, 2011, at Southridge Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Marshalltown, Iowa. Funeral services will be held at a later date at the First Presbyterian Church in Gordon, Nebraska. Interment will be at the Gordon Cemetery following the service. For further information or to send a condolence please visit www.mitchellfh.com or call (641) 844-1234. The Mitchell Family Funeral Home has been entrusted with local arrangements for Mabel and her family. Mabel was born on August 19, 1917, in Gordon, Nebraska, the daughter of Giles and Fanny McComber. She attended the Gordon schools and graduated in 1935 salutatorian of her class and was awarded a scholarship to Chadron State College. Upon graduation from High School she worked at Mills Department Store hoping to lay away enough money to augment the scholarship. The lean years of the 1930s prevented that hope from materializing. On May 7, 1939, she and A. Ray Graeff were united in holy matrimony at the Methodist Church in Rushville, Nebraska. To this union, one son, Daniel Mack was born in January 1942. They moved to Chadron in 1947, where Ray was employed by Nebraska Public Power Co. In 1948, they moved to Rushville where Mabel kept books for her husbands businesses. While living in Rushville, Mabel attended the Presbyterian Church and was Sunday School Superintendent for 15 years during her sons childhood and beyond. Her love for writing made for many childrens programs at church as well as many for Womens Clubs of which she was a member. She composed poetry and shared it with the organizations in both Rushville and Gordon. While living in Marshalltown, Iowa, she wrote a book of her life, Along the Way and compiled a book of her poetry. As a child she attended Sunday School and Christian Endeavor at the Gordon Presbyterian Church where she became a member in 1931. In 1981, Mabel and Ray moved back to Gordon to spend their retirement years, at which time they also moved their membership back to the Gordon First Presbyterian Church. They both enjoyed golfing and fishing and the company of friends. Mabel was a member of the Library Round Table Club, Music and Dramatic Club, the PEO and Easter Star. In November 2000, she moved to Marshalltown, Iowa, to be near her son and family where she resided until her death. Her survivors include her son, Dr. Daniel M. Graeff and wife, Elaine of Marshalltown, Iowa; one granddaughter, Gayle and husband David Kearney of Ballwin, Missouri; one grandson, David Ray Graeff and wife Georgia of Indonesia; and five great-grandchildren, Andrew, Jonathan and Mary Katherine Kearney and Daniel and Benjamin Graeff. The Funeral Homes of Mitchell Family Funeral Home of Marshalltown, Iowa and Chamberlain-Pier Funeral Home of Gordon have been entrusted with the arrangements.