- Date Of Death: March 17, 2015
- State: Iowa
Funeral services for Geraldine Lierley, age 92, of Algona, Iowa will be held Saturday, March 21st at 11am at First Lutheran Church in Algona. Geraldine Walenz Lierley passed away peacefully while surrounded by her loving family on March 17th, 2015, at the age of 92. She was born in Omaha, NE to Anton and Bess (Starkey) Walenz, the fourth youngest of six children. Raised during the Depression, the values of hard work, frugality, and advancement through education shaped her life forever. Even at a young age, her talents were obvious— elected as the first woman president of Omaha Tech High School’s student body, from which she graduated in 1940. She attended the University of Omaha before meeting the love of her life, Earl Lierley.
Geraldine and Earl were wed on November 7, 1942. Their incredible love and dedication to each other never wavered. They raised four children, Kathleen, Karen, Patrice and Michael, to whom she passed on her love of learning and to which she always gave her unconditional love and support. In Omaha, Geraldine was an accomplished and avid bowler. The family moved to Algona, IA. in 1964. Geraldine was active in the Iowa League of Women Voters. She enjoyed gardening, completed the crossword puzzle daily, and was a competitive Scrabble player. Geraldine defied every expectation of a woman of her time. She was always hard at work completing a new project, whether it was re-upholstering furniture, personally building an addition to her home, or creating beautiful ceramics.
She was always humble, always inquiring about how others have been, always genuine. She stressed until her last day that her family was the most important thing to her. Their successes— of which she was so proud—only serve to add to her incredible legacy. Geraldine will be greatly missed. However, the memories she left us with will be eternally treasured. We are thankful to have known her and to have loved her, but mostly, to have been loved by her. Geraldine is preceded in death by her parents, her loving husband, Earl Lierley (1993), her four brothers and sister, and her daughter Kathleen Eppler. She is survived by her daughters, Karen and Patrice (Thomas Southard) and her son Michael (Julie), her sister-in-law Millie Walenz, her son-in-law Robert Eppler, her grandchildren, Patrick Eppler (Michelle), Timothy Eppler (Ann), Jessica Southard, Emily Southard, Connor Lierley and Evan Lierley, and her great-grandchildren Madison Eppler, Mabel Eppler, and Aaron James Eppler, as well as many nieces and nephews.
