Thelma Emeline Ross

Thelma E. Ross, 89, of Marshalltown, Iowa, and Yerington, Nevada, died on Friday, April 10, 2015, in Des Moines, Iowa. A public visitation will be at Mitchell Family Funeral Home, in Marshalltown, Iowa, on Thursday, April 16, 2015 from 5:00 7:00 p.m. Funeral services for Thelma will be held at the Clemons United Methodist Church on Friday, April 17, 2015, at 10:30 a.m. with burial to follow at the Clemons Cemetery. Memorials may be directed in Thelmas name to her family. For more information, or to leave a condolence, please visit: www. mitchellfh.com, or call 641-844-1234. Thelma Emeline Rhodes was born in Ames, Iowa, on May 20, 1925, to Floyd Otis and Nellie Lois (Mills) Rhodes. She attended elementary schools in Collins and Colo. Thelma graduated from Clemons High School in 1942. She married Gerald Cameron Ross, her high school sweetheart, in Mineral Wells, Texas, on June 5, 1943, after he enlisted in the U. S. Army during World War II. After Gerald returned from the war, they farmed in the Clemons and Green Mountain areas before moving to Marshalltown in 1960. In the fall of 1960, Thelma started working for Fisher Governor as a computer librarian which started her lifelong love of using her computer to access the kinds of information she enjoyedgenealogy, politics, sports, social media, and email. While at Fisher Governor, Thelma trained and mentored over a dozen women who remained her friends until her death. Thelma enjoyed going on family boating and fishing vacations, spending time with her grandchildren, watching sports with her siblings, visiting with cousins, gathering family history, and laughing with friends and family. Left to cherish Thelmas memory are three children: Jane Elizabeth (Mike) Neff of Naples, Florida; John David (Joan) Ross of Waukee, Iowa; and Jeffrey Alan (Deb) Ross of Cambridge, Iowa. Thelma also leaves behind her beloved grandchildren: Carrie, John, Kerensa, Jill, Nathan, Allisha, Daniel and Joseph; 10 great-grandchildren and 2 great-great grandchildren. Thelma is also survived by a sister, Mildred Rowden, of Wautoma, Wisconsin; brother, Norman Rhodes of Marshalltown, Iowa, and son-in-law, Skip Hayden, of Yerington, Nevada. Preceding her in death were her husband, Gerald, in 1979; a daughter, Lisa Anne Ross Hayden, in 2012; her parents; 3 sisters: Reva Rhodes, Pauline Kemmerer, and Avonelle Rogers; and 2 brothers: Merrill Rhodes and Lowell Rhodes.