Mary Irene Kingdon

Mary Irene Kingdon, 89, of Monroe, passed away Wednesday, July 12, 2017, at Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines. A funeral service will be at 1 p.m. Monday, July 17 at the Monroe Presbyterian Church. Burial will follow at Silent City Cemetery. Visitation will be from 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday, July 16 at Coburn Funeral Home in Monroe. Memorials may be directed to the Monroe Fire and Rescue and condolences may be left for the family at coburnfuneralhomes.com.

The daughter of Howard and Lillian (Van Baale) Sheeler, Mary was born Dec. 6, 1927, in Monroe. She graduated from Monroe High School in 1946, and went on to receive her bachelor’s degree from Drake University. On June 1, 1946, she was united in marriage to Kenneth E. Kingdon in Troy, Kan. Mary taught in rural Jasper County schools for several years and then went to work in the Newton School District, where she stayed for more than 40 years. She was a member of the Monroe Presbyterian Church. Mary was a Master Gardener and active in the Jasper County Republican Committee. She was also an avid reader.

Those left to honor her memory include her son, Matthew (Lori) Kingdon; two grandchildren, Kim Martin and Steve Chlupach; four great-grandchildren, Alex, Luke, Abby and Zoey; a sister, JoAnn Sheeler; and two brothers, Robert (Noni Kain) Sheeler and Ivan (Mary Lou) Sheeler. Mary was preceded in death by her parents; husband in 1988; and three sisters, Kathleen Jackson, Martha Brayton and Gladys DeJoode.