Avonell J. Prochaska

Avonell J. Prochaska, 70, of Prairie City, passed away Friday, Sept. 22, 2017, at University Park Nursing and Rehab in Des Moines. She had been in Mercy Hospice for a short time. A funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 26 at the Prairie City Church of the Brethren. Burial will take place at Waveland Cemetery. Visitation will take place for one hour prior to the service Tuesday at the church. Memorials may be directed to the Prairie City Church of the Brethren or the Walthill School in Nebraska. Condolences may be left for the family at coburnfuneralhomes.com.

The daughter of Joseph S. and Dorothea Maxine (Thomas) Prochaska, Avonell was born March 9, 1947, in State Center. She was a graduate of Prairie City High School and a 1969 graduate of Northern Iowa with a BA in education. She taught several years in the St. Louis area and spent the last 30 years of her teaching career in Walthill, Neb. Her students were her world. She spent many summers traveling with her parents and in later years with her Aunt Velma Neideigh, seeing much of the U.S. She loved reading, Facebook, flea markets and collecting owls. While growing up on the farm she spent time with her dog Laddie and her pet goats. She passed after fighting a courageous battle with cancer.

Avonell is survived by her niece, Jennifer Cattell; special friends, Carol Van Baale Meador and Dale Lukan; aunts; and a host of cousins and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents; sister, Jolene Cattell; niece, Jennifer Thomas; and stepfather, Clifford Hackathorn.