Mildred E. (Jacobson) Lewellyn

Mildred Ethel (Jacobson) Lewellyn, 101, of Clarion went to be with the Lord on Saturday, December 21, 2019 at the Rehabilitation Center of Belmond.

Funeral services for Mildred Lewellyn will be held on Saturday, December 28, 2019 at 11:00 AM at First United Methodist Church, 201 3rd Avenue North East in Clarion, with Pastor Don Morrison officiating. Burial will take place in Evergreen Cemetery in Clarion.

Visitation will be held on Friday, December 27, 2019 from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM at Ewing Funeral Home, 1801 Central Avenue East in Clarion, and will continue one hour prior to services at the church on Saturday.

Mildred, daughter of Ben and Ethel State Jacobson, was born on December 17, 1918, on a farm owned by her grandparents, John and Cora State, southwest of Galt, Iowa. At the time of her birth, 2 aunts and 1 uncle were in the same house suffering from the influenza pandemic of 1918. Her family moved to a farm 5 miles east of Clarion, Iowa when she was 3. She attended 8 years of a country school in Lincoln Township, then attended Clarion High School while living with a relative in town. She graduated in 1936.

After high school, in addition to helping at home, Mildred did housework and childcare for several different families in Clarion, and for her Grandma and Grandpa State in Dows. On September 8, 1940, Mildred was united in marriage to Lyle Lewellyn at her parents’ home. They headed for a honeymoon trip to the Ozarks in a 1933 Chevy Coupe filled with pots, pans, food and clothes. She proudly recalled that they started the trip with $29.00 and still had some when they returned home.

They farmed 5 miles north of Clarion for 2 years (where Donald was born), then another 4 years several miles north of Dows (where Dale was born), then in 1947 moved to a farm north and west of Galt (where Larry, Richard and Janet were born). They moved to Clarion in 1982 to the first home that they owned, and lived there until Lyle passed away in 2005. Mildred moved to the Meadows Living Complex in Clarion in 2006 and to the Rehabilitation Center in Belmond in 2013.

Mildred was a homemaker and enjoyed doing things for her family, working with her hands, and helping others. She always had a big garden and processed enough vegetables and fruit in the freezer for the year. She loved to host extended-family gatherings with her awesome home cooked meals, which always included those homegrown vegetables and fruit from her garden. She was an accomplished seamstress. She sewed many of the clothes that her family wore, as well as mending and ironing them. The family took annual family vacations, visiting relatives and tourist attractions in many other states. Mildred and Lyle also took several trips with tour groups. Mildred loved and was proud of her family, and got great joy from being a nurturer/care giver to them, as well as others in need.

One of the great legacies Mildred left behind was that she kept a daily diary every year of her adult life. Many family issues were cleared up by consulting them! She also was persistent about photographing family events. In her later years, she got immense hours of joy reading her diaries and her family stories, and poring through her photograph albums. She owned, and could use a computer, and loved using Facebook and email for connecting with her family. She also kept in touch with extended relatives on her mother’s side of the family by writing letters in The Links, which were letters that regularly made it through a circuit of people who added their own letter and sent it on to the next person.

Mildred was a lifelong member of the Clarion United Methodist Church, the Homebuilders Sunday School Class, United Methodist Women and served on various committees.

Mildred is survived by her sons, Donald (Marnie) Lewellyn of Richardson, TX, Dale (Elaine) Lewellyn of Bloomington, MN, Larry (Sue) Lewellyn of Austin, TX, Richard (Shari) Lewellyn of Goodell, IA; daughter, Janet (Kevin) Albrecht of Duncombe, IA; nine grandchildren, Andrea (Jay) Bullerman, Bonnie Lewellyn, Ross Lewellyn, Eric (Natalie) Lewellyn. Erin Lewellyn, Lauren Lewellyn, Rachel Albrecht, Jay (Laura) Albrecht, Kelsey Albrecht; six great-grandchildren, Elias and Kian Gibson, Misha and Annika Lewellyn, Addyson and Keaton Albrecht.

Mildred was preceded in death by her husband, Lyle (2005); brother and sister-in-law, Kendall and Phyllis Jacobson; sister and brother-in-law, Wilma and Ray Anderson; parents, Ben and Ethel Jacobson.