Sylvia G. (Antonson) Vaudt

Sylvia Vaudt, 86, of Clarion passed away Thursday, March 31, 2016 at Iowa Specialty Hospital in Clarion.

Memorial services for Sylvia Vaudt will be held at 1:00 PM on Monday, April 4, 2016 at Ewing Funeral Home, 1801 Central Avenue East in Clarion, with Pastor Bill Kem officiating. Burial will be held at a later date.

Visitation will be held Monday beginning at 11:00 AM until services begin at 1:00 PM at the funeral home.

Sylvia “Syb” Vaudt was born March 21, 1930 to Henrik and Petra (Jakobsen) Antonson in Alcester, South Dakota.  She was raised in Alcester, along with her three brothers.

Sylvia was united in marriage with Gerald Cody on July 1, 1961 at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Depew, Iowa.  The couple made their home on the Cody family farm near Fenton, Iowa.  To this union, children Dwayne, Carol and Dean were born.

Sylvia helped Gerald around the farm while raising their family.  She later worked as a teacher’s aid at Sentral of Fenton school district until her retirement in 1992.  She previously worked for Honeywell International in Minneapolis for 14 years prior to her marriage to Gerald.

Gerald passed away in 1999 and Sylvia was later united in marriage to Eugene Vaudt in 2001.  The couple continued to live in rural Fenton and Eugene passed away in 2005.  Shortly thereafter, Sylva moved to Clarion.

Sylvia’s Lutheran faith was extremely important in her life.  She was a longtime member of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Depew, where she served as a Sunday school teacher and as a member of the ladies circle.  Sylvia later joined First Lutheran Church in Clarion.

Sylvia was a proud, full-blooded Norwegian and had perfected her Kringla recipe over the years.  She was very artistic, having taught herself to play piano by ear and spent hours drawing, painting, making ceramics and quilting.  She spent more than 25 years producing cathedral window quilt sets for her children, meticulously stitched entirely by hand.

Sylvia was especially proud of her grandson Brady, his many achievements (she called him before each wrestling meet to remind him to “pin them for grandma”) and his artistic abilities he inherited from her.

Sylvia will be remembered by her family for having been a loving and supportive mother and grandmother and for having so strongly stressed the importance of education in the lives of her children.

Sylvia is survived by her son Dwayne Cody and wife Virginia Buran of Minneapolis, Minnesota; daughter Carol Brott and husband John of Clarion; grandchildren Brady Brott of Clarion, Alex Simich of Ashland, Oregon and Michael and wife Kassi Simich of Vancouver, Washington; step-children Kent (Rosie) Vaudt, Diane (Jack) Munch, Angela (Steve) Cook and Michelle (Dwight) Nicholson, along with their families, as well as numerous nieces and nephews, other relatives and friends.

Sylvia was preceded in death by her son Dean in 1985, husband Gerald Cody in 1999, husband Eugene Vaudt in 2005, and brothers Art Antonson, Carrol Antonson and Palmer Antonson.