Mildred Walkup

Mildred Louise Walkup, 98, of Marshalltown, passed away on Wednesday, January 23, 2019 at Unity Point in Marshalltown.  Funeral services for Mildred will be held on Saturday, February 2, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. at the Mitchell Family Funeral Home in Marshalltown. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service starting at 1:00 p.m. For more information or to send a condolence, please visit www.mitchellfh.com or call 641-844-1234. Mitchell Family Funeral Home is caring for Mildred and her family. Please note that the service had previously been scheduled for Wednesday, but due to the dangerously cold temperatures for that day, the family wanted to move it to Saturday for the wellbeing of their guests.  Mildred Louise Irons was born in Laurel, Iowa on November 13, 1920 to James and Elizabeth Wallace Irons. She graduated from Laurel High School in 1938 where she played on the girls’ basketball team. After high school, Mildred attended AIB in Des Moines. She put her education to good use during her long career at Lennox Industries.   Mildred was united in marriage to Victor Earl Swift in 1939 at the Laurel United Methodist Church. In 1952 they purchased a greenhouse business in Gilman, Iowa. This is where Swift Greenhouse is located today. Mildred began her career at Lennox as a clerk-typist in Stenography in 1956. She held various positions at Lennox until her retirement from Cost Accounting in 1986. She was an active member in the Lennettes Ladies Club, and had the honor of being vice president of the club in 1974. Mildred was a single mother of five children for eight years. In 1963 she married Clint Walkup and welcomed his five year old daughter, Becky into her family. Mildred was a wonderful cook, and hosted many family gatherings. She loved tending her flower gardens, bird watching, playing a game of 500 with her friends, and watching women’s basketball. Her favorite travels include a Hawaiian Cruise, and trips to Nova Scotia and the Rocky Mountains.  Mildred is survived by her children: Larry Swift of Gilman, Jeanne Swift of Seattle, Washington, Michael Swift of Marshalltown, Vicki (Gary) Brammer of Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin, Becky Walkup of Marshalltown and Roger (Lou) Walkup of Des Moines. She is also survived by seven grandchildren and thirteen great grandchildren.  Family that preceded Mildred in death include her husband, Clint Walkup, daughter Joanne Robinson, daughter-in-law Carol Ann Swift, two grandsons, her parents, two brothers, James Irons, and Paul Irons, and one sister, Dorothy McMahon.