Rose Marie Bylund

Rose Marie (Hansen) Bylund, the oldest child of Hans and Magdalena (Mayer) Hansen, was born on June 15, 1926, at her parents’ farm home in Cameron Township Audubon County Iowa and died February 28, 2015, at the Mercy Hospital Medical Center in Des Moines, Iowa at the age of 88 years, 8 months, and 13 days.
Rose attended Grade School at Cameron #1. As a freshman, Rose attended Gray School and then transferred to Audubon High School where she took normal training and graduated with the Class of 1943. She met Edward (Ed) LaVerne Bylund shortly after high school. On December 23, 1945, Rose married Ed at Our Saviours Lutheran Church in Audubon, Iowa, while Ed was on leave from the Navy. Ed was the fifth and youngest child of John Earl and Flossie (Harvey) Bylund.
Rose and Ed moved to Herman, Nebraska and farmed with Ed’s parents and then moved on to Jewell, Iowa where they worked on a turkey farm for four years. In 1955 they started raising turkeys on their own at a farm near Roland, Iowa. In 1959, they settled on the Bonwell farm which was a half mile east of Viola Center and in 1963 purchased the farm and raised turkeys, hogs, chickens, cattle and grain.
Through the years, their family had grown to seven children and she was kept busy with various activities; 4-H clubs, church activities, cooking, baking, gardening, canning fruits and vegetables. Rose truly loved being a farmer’s wife. In addition, Rose trained in Audubon to receive her teacher’s certificate and taught in the rural schools for several years. Rose worked as a teacher’s aide and then school secretary for 15 years from 1967 to 1981 when she retired. In 1994, they built and moved into their new home in Audubon. Rosie continued to enjoy her grandchildren and numerous great grandchildren in so many ways. One of the many treasures Rose shared was her cross-stitched kitchen towels and pillow cases.
Rose belonged to ODO (Our Day Off) a club she joined in 1959. She was active in the VFW Auxiliary Post 4119 in Audubon and served as their treasurer. She was a long time member of the American Legion Auxiliary and Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Audubon.
Rose was preceded in death by her husband Edward; her daughter, Kathryn Rose Moravec; her son-in-law James Guthrie; her parents Magdalena and Hans; her sisters Caroline Hoffman, Elli Mainelli, Charlotte Kinney, and brothers Richard Hansen and Dale Hansen and brother-in-laws Hayden England and Dennis Kinney.
Rose is survived by her children: Larry Bylund, Karen Guthrie, Mary Anne (Larry) Pomeroy, Cheryl (Greg) Averill, Carole (Jim) Zahn and Janet (Steve) Schreck. Her surviving sisters are Anna England and Violet (Darrell “Arch”) Andersen. Her grandchildren include Kristina (Adam) Staebell, Melanie (Andy) Horel, Andrea (Todd) Marshall, Jacob (Mindy) Bylund, Kara (Alan) Winkelbauer, Nancy Moravec, Jaime (Paul) Tigges, Curt (Maggie) Neujahr, Sarah (Daniel) Karnes, Cody (Nikki) Pomeroy, Gregory Averill, Jr., Kari (Tony) Byrd, Matthew (Angela) Schreck and Spencer Schreck. Step grandchildren are Jessica (Dan) Gibson and Justin (Rachael) Zahn. Her great grandchildren are Austin and Andrew Staebell, Aiden and Reid Horel, Ashley, Austin and Brendan Marshall, Abigail, Anna, Alexandra and Amelia Bylund, Kyla, Landen and Gavin Winkelbauer, Ava, Carter and Jairet Tigges, Luke, Collin and Laney Neujahr, Kendall Pomeroy and Graham and Isla Karnes. Her step-great grandchildren are Jaydn and Kaylee Schmidt, Taylor and Charley Gibson, and Brea and Blake Zahn. She is also survived by numerous nieces, nephews and other relatives and friends.
Funeral services will be conducted by Pastor Doug Opp on Wednesday, March 4, 2015, at 10:30 A.M. at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Audubon, Iowa. Interment will be in the Maple Grove Cemetery in Audubon. The honorary casket bearers will be her granddaughters Kristina Staebell, Melanie Horel, Andrea Marshall, Kara Winkelbauer, Nancy Moravec, Jaime Tigges, Sarah Karnes, and Kari Byrd. The casket bearers will be grandsons Jacob Bylund, Curt Neujahr, Cody Pomeroy, Gregory Averill, Jr., Matthew Schreck, and Spencer Schreck. The family will meet with friends Tuesday evening at 5:00 P.M. at the Kessler Funeral Home in Audubon, Iowa. Memorials are suggested to Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church and American Legion.