In Memory of Mildred E. Fleenor

Mildred E. Fleenor, age 94, of Battle Creek, Iowa, passed away on Monday, January 16, 2023, at the Willow Dale Wellness Village of Battle Creek, Iowa.

A Funeral Service will be held at 10:30 a.m., Friday, January 27, 2023, at the St. Paul Lutheran Church of Ida Grove, Iowa. Rev. Richard A. Salcido will officiate. Committal Services will follow in the Ida Grove Cemetery of Ida Grove, Iowa.

A Visitation will be held prior to the service from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., on Friday, January 27, 2023, at the St. Paul Lutheran Church of Ida Grove, Iowa.   

The Christensen-Van Houten Funeral Homes of Ida Grove, Iowa, are in charge of the funeral arrangements. Condolences may be sent online at www.christensenvanhouten.com

Memorials in Mildred’s name may be made to the Ida Grove Public Library for large print books or the St. Paul Lutheran Church in Ida Grove.

Mildred Elaine Bumann was the third child of eleven children born to Raymond and Edna (Hamann) Bumann in Battle Creek, Iowa, on October 3, 1928. She was baptized at the St. John Lutheran Church in Battle Creek. The family lived in Grant Township and attended the Grant No. 9 School. Since there were no bus routes coming south to their farm, she stayed with grandparents to attend her first two years of high school in Battle Creek. She graduated from Ida Grove High School in 1946. She enjoyed high school years, participating in the school band, glee club, chorus, class plays, operettas, cheerleading, and spelling bees.

In her youth, she was active in Walther League Youth Group at St. John Lutheran Church and sang in the church choir and a quartet for all the funerals. She was a member of the Grant Gay Girls 4-H Club for eight years. As a young girl she learned how to make and bake six loaves of bread at a time, can fruits and vegetables from her Victory Garden, butcher chickens, prepare many meals for the large family, washing and ironing hundreds of loads of clothes, and taking care of her younger brothers and sisters. She continued to demonstrate a deep love for her siblings and her state of Iowa which in her words was “God’s country.”

While her two older brothers served in the Armed Forces during World War II, she and her sister, Dolores, had to help do chores outside and even some field work driving the tractor. She remembered writing a letter to her brother, Earl, who was in Germany in the Battle of the Bulge telling him he had a baby brother who was born on his same birthday 20 years apart. (Earl didn’t receive the letter until three months later.) 

Mildred took the Normal Training Course in High School and was able to teach country school at Grant No. 7 for five years and substitute teach at two Hayes Twp. Schools. She met her husband, Jim Fleenor, at a friend’s home when he came back from serving in the South Pacific Islands as a U.S. Marine. They were married November 21, 1948 and began farming south of Ida Grove. 

After teaching she stayed home to raise a family, Mason, Joanne, Kathy, and Jeff. When her daughter could join 4-H she became the leader of the Grant Go Go Girls 4-H Club. She enjoyed participating in all her children’s and grandchildren’s activities, especially 4-H, sports, and music. When her husband transferred to Lansing, Kansas, with Farmland Industries in 1972 she worked at the J.C. Penney Company. In 1975 they returned to Ida Grove.

She was community-minded and volunteered for many activities including the Horn Memorial Hospital Gift Shop, served on the committee for the Ida Grove Centennial, was past president of the American Legion Auxiliary, taught flag etiquette in the schools, was a yearly country school teacher for historic tours to the Grant School house at Moorhead Park for elementary school students, and belonged and volunteered her time with Circle activities at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Ida Grove. She won many contests for her sour-cream raisin pie, Jim’s favorite, and while living at Willow Dale Care Center she pointed out that her pies were better than those served.

Mildred was a 69-year member of the ODO Club (Our Day Off) where she formed strong friendships. Her hobbies were reading, dancing, traveling, gardening, and she was an avid card player and crossword puzzle enthusiast. Her family holds many cherished stories of her candid and sometimes unexpected statements, opinions, and advice - “there are no friends in a card game!” 

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband James Mason Fleenor; brothers Earl Bumann, Alvin Bumann, Edward Bumann and Ray Bumann, Jr.; sisters Dolores Linn and Edna Mae Phillips; brothers-in-law Del Linn, Ed Skinner and Richard Messer; and sister-in-law Shirley Bumann.

She is survived by her children Mason (Diane) Fleenor, Ida Grove, IA, Joanne (Steve) Spurgin, Denton, TX, Kathy (Ellis) Edmonds, Leavenworth, KS and Jeff (Sharyl) Fleenor, Pella, IA; brother Roger (Karen) Bumann; sisters Lois Skinner, Carol (Roger) Clausen, and Jeannette Messer; sisters-in-law Lucille Mason, Karen (Jr.) Bumann, June Bumann; brother-in-law Tom Phillips; 13 grandchildren: Brandy Jensen, Brook Boeckman, Jimmy Fleenor, Brittany Slade, Jessica Troester, Kendra Baker, Adria Hunter, Lindsay Briggs, Ellison Edmonds, John Edmonds, Courtney Abraham, Stephanie Wisnowski, and Kelsy Fleenor; 21 great-grandchildren and 3 step-great-grandchildren; extended family and friends.