Theresa Theis

Loving wife, mother, and friend to many, Theresa Ann Theis, 59, of Garwin, Iowa, passed away on July 31, 2023 at Mercy One Covenant Medical Center in Waterloo, Iowa.

A celebration of life for Theresa will take place on her 60th birthday, Sunday August 13, 2023 at the Mitchell Family Funeral Home from 1:00-3:00 p.m. with a time of sharing to take place. In lieu of flowers please select plants in order to remember Theresa by or send a donation in Theresa’s name to the Puppy Jake Foundation (www.puppyjakefoundation.org). For additional information or to send a condolence to the family please visit www.mitchellfh.com or call 641-844-1234.

Theresa was born August 13, 1963 in Yankton, South Dakota. She was later adopted by John and Martha Kueny (Heide) and she grew up in Allerton, Iowa alongside three other siblings. She was a graduate from Wayne High School in Corydon, Iowa.

Following high school, Theresa began what would become a 25-year career with the United States Armed Forces and served in the United States Navy for 10 years and did Navy Reserves to follow, transferred to the Army National Guard where she met her husband Jeff, before they both transferred to the Air National Guard. While in the Air Force she served at the rank of Technical Sergeant.

On January 9, 1999 she was united in marriage to Jeffrey Theis at the St. Henry Catholic Church in Marshalltown. She resided in Gladbrook from 1998-2022 until they began living at Union Grove Lake, near Garwin, Iowa. It was also after her time in the armed forces that she had decided to return to school where she would get her degree in education. She started off at Marshalltown Community College where she received her Associates of Arts Degree then attended the University of Northern Iowa where she had received both her Bachelor's Degree followed by graduating with her Master’s Degree in 2012. She began to first teach in the BCLUW school district in 2003 where she had taught science for three years. She had a year in Sigourney before coming to work in Marshalltown starting in the 2007 school year.

Theresa was active in her own community, surrounding communities, and her students' lives. She was a faithful donor to Life Serve Blood Center where she had given over 6 gallons in her lifetime. She was additionally a member of the American Legion in Gladbrook, Marshalltown Community Theatre, the astronomy club, and did volunteer work for the DNR as a monitor of the eagles’ nests. She stayed active within the lives of her students being the club sponsor for the GSA Club and Science Bound at Marshalltown High School.

In her free time, she loved to work in her garden, photograph all life around her, going to Union Grove Lake and Green Castle for visits to the planetarium for astronomy, she was into all things geology, grooming and riding horses, and camping. She always took note to be environmentally conscious and dedicated so much time to her students and to anybody that she could lend a hand to.

She is survived by her husband Jeff Theis; her children, Catheryne Swann and Robert Frazier; her siblings, Lynette (Kurt) Watts and Mike Kueny; her fur babies Pete and Mavryk; and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.

She is preceded in death by her parents John and Martha Kueny and her brother David Kueny.