Obituary of Mary Schoning

A funeral service for Mary Schoning, age 86, of Milford, will be held Saturday, April 23, 2016 at 1:30 PM at Union Memorial Church in Milford. Burial will be at Milford Cemetery. Visitation will be on Friday, April 22nd after 4:00pm with the family present from 5:00-7:00pm at Turner Jenness Funeral Home in Milford. Mary Jane (Brinkley) Schoning was born April 15, 1930, the 14th child of Ebb and Eva (Brown) Brinkley of Dickens. She attended country school in the Spencer area before graduating from Spencer High School in 1948. She married her high school sweetheart, Duane Schoning, on January 23, 1949, in Langdon. The couple enjoyed farming together for over 50 years in the Milford area and raised four children. Mary was well known as "The Egg Lady", delivering farm fresh eggs to area residents & organizations. She was very active in 4-H with her children, and loved tending her large garden. Her hobbies included sewing, baking, quilting and playing cards. She was an active member of Union Memorial Church, serving up many Harvest Home suppers. Mary enjoyed having visitors at the farm and always had a fresh cake ready to share. Mary passed away on April 20th, 2016 at the Hawkeye Care Center in Spirit Lake at the age of 86, after battling dementia for the last few years. Left to cherish her memory are her daughters Susan (Steve) Koenck of Cedar Rapids, Sharon (Tom) Norgaard of Spencer, Sally (Dan) Wisner of Urbandale; seven grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren, a sister, Virginia Behrens, four sisters-in-law, and numerous nieces and nephews. Mary was preceded in death by her husband, Duane; her son, Steven; one son-in-law; two grandchildren; one great grandchild; brothers George, Dale, Wes, Roy, Vern, Donald and Kenneth; and sisters Lela, Loretta, Helen, Ruby and Margaret.