Mildred Ruth Jessen

1930 - 2020

MILDRED RUTH JESSEN Marion Mildred Ruth Jessen, 90, of Marion, Iowa, passed away on Friday, Sept. 11, 2020, at Hiawatha Care Center in Hiawatha, Iowa. A private family graveside service will take place at Martin Creek Cemetery at a future date. Murdoch Funeral Home & Cremation Service of Marion is assisting the family. Mildred was born April 24, 1930, to Earl and Elizabeth Lamm on a farm in Butler County, Iowa. She was the fifth of six children and raised in Dumont, Iowa, where her parents operated a gasoline station along Highway 3. After graduating from high school, Mildred attended Iowa State Teachers College (UNI) and received a teacher's certificate. She taught elementary school five years before returning to college at the University of Iowa and receiving her bachelor's degree in elementary education in June of 1955. Mildred met James Anton Jessen while at the University of Iowa, and they married on June 11, 1955. Mildred taught first grade in Iowa City for one year while James finished his education degree. They moved to Estherville, Iowa, and taught for two years before moving to the Cedar Rapids area in 1958. In 1959, James and Mildred purchased a small farm outside of Marion, where they raised their family. Mildred taught kindergarten through fourth-grade children in the Cedar Rapids school system. After her retirement in 1992, Mildred kept busy playing bridge, researching her family ancestry and traveling throughout the U.S., including trips to both Hawaii and Alaska. Mildred is survived by her sister, Miriam Patton of Fort Wayne, Ind.; daughters, Cheryl (Paul) McAvoy of Columbus, Ind., and Cynthia (Brad) Roehr of Cedar Rapids; sons, Jeffrey Jessen of Grafton, Iowa, and James (Carla) Jessen of Cedar Rapids; and 11 grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, James, in 2016; a son, Howard in 1967; and her siblings, Mary Lamm, Lawrence Lamm, Margaret Cook and Theresa Ungs. Memorials may be directed to the Alzheimer's Association. Cards and condolences may be mailed to 320 McKinsie Ct. NE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52402. Please share a memory of Mildred at www.murdochfuneralhome.com under obituaries.