Jean Dunshee, age 88, of Clarinda, entered into peace Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2014 at Goldenrod Manor, Clarinda. Funeral services were held 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, March 4, 2014 at Westminster Presbyterian Church, Clarinda, with Pastor Deborah Boucher-Payne officiating. Visitation with the family was held 5-7 p.m., Monday, March 3 at Ritchie Funeral Home, Clarinda. Burial was in the Clarinda Cemetery, Clarinda. Memorials may be directed to Southwest Iowa Humane Society, American Legion Sergy Post 98 Auxiliary or to the Westminster Presbyterian Church. Memories and condolences may be shared with the family on our website at, www.ritchiefuneralhome.com under Obituaries. Arrangements were entrusted to the Ritchie Funeral Home of Clarinda.

Jean Carolyn McCollough, daughter of Ralph Perry and Helma Louise (Young) McCollough, was born on Feb. 14, 1926 in Chariton, and passed away with her family surrounding her in Clarinda on Feb. 25, 2014 at the age of 88 years and 11 days. She was not quite three years old when her family moved from the farm into town. During her youth she enjoyed tap dancing. While in high school she continued her love of the arts and involvement in music as a violinist in the school orchestra, graduating with the class of 1943. While in high school, she worked as a secretary in Gookin's Insurance and Real Estate office and continued employment there following graduation before joining the office staff at Iowa Southern Utilities. She married Arthur Allen Dunshee on Jan. 23, 1946 and continued her employment while Art completed his education at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, Neb. The young couple's first move was to Atlantic in 1947 before making their home in Clarinda in 1949, along with their growing family.

While Art was working at establishing a retail business career, Jean's greatest joy in life was being a devoted, supportive wife and a loving, caring, and nurturing mother to their seven children. She was an excellent homemaker taking great pride in providing a home, not only well maintained and decorated, but a welcoming home filled with warmth and love. Her family and friends were the recipients of her outstanding baking and culinary skills including homemade breads, rolls, pies, and delicious meals. Jean enjoyed playing the guitar and her family has fond memories of spontaneous get-togethers when friends enjoying singing and harmonizing. She enjoyed drawing and painting and was a talented charcoal portrait artist. Jean was a seamstress who could sew a dress for a dance, a Halloween costume, or whatever was needed for her family, and often times, without a pattern. She liked to upholster and had numerous needlework hobbies, with knitting and crocheting being two of her favorites. Jean had a great interest in genealogy and especially enjoyed the research. As a busy wife and mother, Jean was actively involved and was a faithful member of her church, her community, her children's activities, and volunteering her services when needed at her children's schools.

Art and Jean owned Art's Shoes on the south side of the square in Clarinda which Art operated for 27 years. With their family about grown, she worked full time in the shoe store for over ten years, until their retirement in October 1983. During their retirement years she cherished time with family. The holidays took on special meaning with the family reunions; and the grandchildren delighted in all these occasions. Jean volunteered for the R.S.V.P. group, Glenn Miller Days, the Nodaway Valley Museum, and delivered Meals-On-Wheels. She was a member of the Westminster Presbyterian Church and the American Legion Auxiliary.

Jean will be remembered by her family and friends for her strong faith in God, her kindness, her inner strength, creativity and intelligence, sense of humor, infectious laugh, beautiful smile, her love for all God's creatures, her fairness and integrity, and a life lived by the Golden Rule.

Left to cherish her memory are seven children: Linda (Dennis) Nissen of Griswold, Leslie Dunshee and Calvin (Fran) Dunshee of Ames, Carolyn Tharp of Des Moines, Charles Dunshee of Clarinda, Anita VonDielingen of Atlantic, Lisa Whitehill (Terry Kinman) of Clarinda; 14 grandchildren: Angela (Douglas) Britton of Washington D. C.; Brian Dunshee of Ames, Elizabeth Dunshee of Minneapolis, Minn.; Heather Tharp (Brett Spohr) of Des Moines, Amber Tharp, and Nathan Tharp of Des Moines, Eric (Aimee) VonDielingen of Denver, Colo., Kristi VonDielingen (Derek Story) of Fort Benning, Ga., Ryan VonDielingen of Cedar Rapids, Alexa Whitehill of Ames, Andrew Whitehill of Council Bluffs, Aaron Whitehill of Clarinda, Stephanie (Riley) Christie and Shelby Kinman of Clarinda; six great-grandchildren: Daniel and Dexter Britton of Washington D. C., Kaden and Caroline Tharp of Des Moines, Dom and Rem Story of Georgia and her cat Pedie Poo, her faithful companion in her later years.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Art Dunshee; two sons-in-law, Dwayne Zimmerman and Gary Tharp; one brother and sister-in-law Donald (Edna) McCollough of Chariton; brothers and sisters-in-law, Leta (Harry) Miller, George (Mayme) Dunshee, Helen (Gordon) Savee, Vada (James) Smith, Evelyn (Mick) Weidman, Robert Dunshee, and Ralph Hixson.

She is survived by two sisters-in-law: Flora Belle Hixson of Chariton, and Helen Dunshee of Palmyra, Wisc., and nieces and nephews.

Memorials may be directed to the family for the Westminster Presbyterian Church, Legion Auxiliary, or the Southwest Iowa Humane Society in Clarinda.

The family of Jean expresses thanks and appreciation for the good care, kindness and compassion while she was a patient at the Clarinda Regional Health Center and to Dr. Anuj Wadhwa, and Dr. Gerard Stanley, Sr., Heartland Home Health and Hospice staff, and the staff at Goldenrod Manor while she received care in the Hospice room.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by Clarinda Herald-Journal on Mar. 3, 2014.