- Date Of Birth: April 11, 1916
- Date Of Death: February 28, 2019
- State: Iowa
Effie Vander Schel Robison the daughter of Andrew and Gertrude Huisman Vander Schel was born on April 11, 1916 in Moravia, Iowa.
On May 12, 1940, Effie was united with Robert “Bob” Robison in Knoxville, Iowa. They were blessed with 3 sons, Donald, Delmar and Duane. She lived in Monroe, Iowa until 1972, Prairie City, Iowa from 1972 -1977 and Newton, Iowa from 1977 until 2019. Effie had worked in the laundry at the Skiff Medical Center for 20 years.
It is no secret that Effie experienced more than her fair share of hardships and tragedies in her nearly 103 years of life. Not only surviving the flu pandemic of 1918 that took the life of her father and sister, living through what would be called poverty today, surviving the Great Depression, recessions, etc. but her personal tragedies such as her son, Delmar being killed in a farm accident in 1966, son, Don being killed in an small airplane crash by Grinnell in 1970, and her husband, Bob dying of a heart attack in 1976. But what is amazing is her resilience in overcoming all of these life changing events and living a full life that touched so many people. While many in Newton only knew her as the “white haired lady” who lived at the corner of S. 8th Ave E. and E. 10th St. S. who was always working in her yard, her friends, relatives and acquaintances knew and admired her inner strength. She will be missed by many.
Effie died on Thursday, February 28, 2019, at Nelson Manor in Newton. She was 102. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, Bob; and two sons, Donald and Delmar.
Those left to cherish Effie’s memory are her son, Duane (Liz) Robison of Lisle, Illinois; four grandchildren, Todd (Diane) Lenning of Webster City, Tawnya (Shannon) Hambly of Long Grove, Tyler Robison of Chicago and Adam (Whitney) Robison of Portland, Oregon; five great-grandchildren, three great-great-grandchildren, several nieces including, Kay Haines, Judy Hitchler, Denise Grant and Judy Modlin; and special friends, Sue Iverson, Paul and Kay Koeppen and Shary Branderhorst.
A special thank you to her Maid-Rite “family”, including Dan and Pam Holtkamp, Lori, Stacy, and Amy for their years of friendship and caring.
The family appreciates the fantastic care Nelson Manor provided Effie the past year. Not only the physical care, but the love and friendship they exhibited was amazing.
