01/16/2007
Wilma Coleen (Willie) Monroe, 84, of 350 Cayman St., Iowa City, died Jan. 16 at Mercy
Hospital in Iowa City after an extended illness.
A memorial service will be held
at Attica United Methodist Church on Feb. 3 at 11 a.m. Burial will be in the Zion
Cemetery in Pershing.
Memorials may be made to Hospice of Iowa City, 1025 Wade Street,
Iowa City, Iowa, 52240 or Attica United Methodist Church. Lensing Funeral and Cremation
Service in Iowa City is handling arrangements. Miss Monroe was born Oct. 9, 1922,
in Knoxville, to Elzy and Leona Monroe. She attended rural schools in Marion County
and graduated from Knoxville High School.
In 1940. Further education was chiefly
at Iowa State Teachers College (now University of Northern Iowa) and Drake University,
where she received both B.A. and M.A. degrees in Education. Her entire life was
devoted to education, having taught in rural schools in Marion County as well as
Baxter, Council Bluffs, and Des Moines. She retired from teaching in 1987 and moved
to Iowa City in 1993.
Wilma retained her membership at Attica United Methodist Church
in Attica, but attended First Congregational Church in Iowa City since moving to
Iowa City.
Survivors include two sisters, Glenna Cobb of Iowa City and Lucile Goemaat
of Knoxville; two brothers, Dwight Monroe of Bondurant and Hoyt Monroe of Jefferson.
Three sisters, Wanda Monroe, Marilyn Woodard, and Lorraine Swayne preceded her in
death, as did both parents.
Wilma was a true family person and leaves many nieces,
nephews, grandnieces, and grandnephews, as well as in-laws, whom she enjoyed.
“They say that all angels have wings, but this is not entirely true. For there is a real-life example to prove that statement wrong, and that example, Willie, is you. Though you cannot fly, you have helped others soar. You are the least selfish person I know and deserve so much more. They say God takes the good ones first, to a place
of which we could only dream. And Willie, when you go there, there your wings will be there waiting.