Amanda "Mandy" (Meier) Stracke

Amanda “Mandy” (Meier) Stracke, 36 of Des Moines and formerly of Clarion passed away Friday, August 15, 2014 at Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines.

Funeral services for Mandy Stracke will be held on Thursday, August 21, 2014 at 2:00 PM at the United Presbyterian Church, 219 1st Street North West in Clarion with Pastor Bill Kem officiating.  Graveside services will be held at Evergreen Cemetery in Clarion.

Visitation will be held on Wednesday, August 20, 2014 from 5:00 – 7:00 PM at Ewing Funeral Home, 1801 Central Avenue East in Clarion and will continue one hour prior to services at the church on Thursday.

Amanda “Mandy” Marie (Meier) Stracke was born January 7, 1978 to Richard and Colleen (Hennigar) Meier in Clarion, Iowa.

Mandy attended school in Belmond through elementary school and began attending school in Clarion beginning in seventh grade; she graduated from Clarion High School in 1996.  She attended Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge, and later DMACC where she received her Bachelors of Nursing degree.

During her senior year of high school and while attending Iowa Central, Mandy worked as an EMT with the Clarion Ambulance service.  While attending DMACC, she began working weekend shifts at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines.  Following her graduation from DMACC, she began working at Iowa Methodist Hospitals/Unity Point Health Care in Des Moines in the ICU/CCU.

Mandy married Joe Stracke on June 7, 2008 at Lake Cornelia.  The couple made their home in Des Moines.

Mandy enjoyed fishing, camping and watching movies.  She loved animals, especially her cats and collecting eagle figurines.  She and Joe loved cooking together; they published a cook book each Christmas for friends and family.

Mandy will be lovingly remembered for her contagious laughter, her hatred of reading and her willingness to always help people who were “down and out.”  She was known for putting others ahead of herself and for spending time with her family whenever possible.

Mandy is survived by her husband Joe Stracke of Des Moines; her parents Richard and Colleen Meier of Clarion; sister April Brown and her husband Jeff of Clarion; grandparents Everett and Barbara Hennigar of Clarion; mother-in-law Judith York of Perry, Iowa; along with numerous aunts and uncles, cousins, other family members and friends.

Mandy was preceded in death by her grandparents Adabelle and Irvin Meier, Sr., uncle Dennis Aldrich, aunt Gail Jensen, and cousin Kelly Aldrich.