In Memory of Marguerite Schramm

Marguerite Schramm, age 90, of Ida Grove, Iowa, passed away on Monday, June 3, 2019, at the Willow Dale Wellness Village, of Battle Creek, Iowa.

A Memorial Service will be held at 2:00 p.m., Sunday, June 9, 2019, at the St. Paul Lutheran Church of Ida Grove, Iowa. Reverend Richard A. Salcido will officiate. Committal will follow in the Ida Grove Cemetery of Ida Grove, Iowa. A Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., Sunday, June 9, 2019, at the St. Paul Lutheran Church of Ida Grove, Iowa. The Christensen-Van Houten Funeral Home of Ida Grove, Iowa is in charge of the funeral arrangements.   Condolences may be sent online at www.christensenvanhouten.com

It was on Palm Sunday, March 29, 1929, that Marguerite Roth came to life.  She was the only child of Jean and Marguerite (Cherpillod) Roth of Lucerne, Switzerland.  World War II made its impact on her life.  Just by a chance encounter, on October 9, 1945, she met Robert Schramm, an American G.I. who became her future husband .  He needed directions to some of Lucerne’s tourist attractions.  After writing letters to each other for nearly four years, he sailed across the Atlantic again, but with a diamond in his pocket. They were married in Lucerne on June 11, 1949.

They centered their life in Switzerland.  Then in 1950, however, Bob was called to return to Ida Grove, Iowa, to work with his father and brothers at the Schramm Welding and Machine shop. His family of brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews became her family, too. Marguerite worked at the Council Oak Store until the children came along and later at J. C. Penney in Ida Grove. She also translated letters since she spoke four languages.  

Bob and Marguerite became parents to Marguerite/Maggie (Jim) Rains of Mondamin, IA, George (Dagmar) of Germany, and Mary (Dennis) Wonder of Milford, IA.  She shared her love of music, cooking, sewing and knitting, romantic comedies, her rosy view of life, hiking and walking trails with them.  Most of all, she was a role model for resilience, patience, courage, perseverance, independence, and counting blessings.

 Marguerite was an active volunteer at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Horn Memorial Hospital and a Red Cross blood donor.  Whether it was from Lucerne to Iowa, wherever she went, she made it a better place with her cheery smile and kind heart.  She had setbacks in her life that didn’t go as she had planned, but she would pick herself up with that Swiss determination and pride to adapt to new ways.

She was a proud grandmother to Nathalie (Jochen)Netzer, Rob (Regina)Rains, Andrew (Darlene) Rains, and David (Sydney) Wonder and to four great-grandchildren Owen, Ivan, Frederic, Adalene, and Audreana Rains complete her family.  She also has an adopted German “granddaughter” Ulrike.

Marguerite was preceded in death by her parents, grandparents, parents-in-law George and Lillian Schramm, brothers-in-law Roger, Ken, and Robert Bolles; sisters-in-law Ruth Bolles, and Donna Schramm.  She is survived by her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and sister-in-law JoAnn Suda, brother-in-law and his wife, Merle and Audrey Schramm, many special nieces and nephews, and her dear cousin Charles Cherpillod.  Also surviving are special close friends Marge and Margaret, her “other daughter Kristi”, Phyllis, Betty, and Gloria, and her Church Circle ladies who will miss her presence.