Marjorie Irene McBride

Marjorie Irene McBride passed away at Bethany Manor Life Communities in Story City on Sunday evening, February 28, 2010. She had just celebrated her 90th birthday in December.

She was born on December 17, 1919 in rural northern Missouri to Rolla Guy Maroney and Elma Rhea Brower Maroney. She had an older sister, Eleanor Pauline, and a younger brother, Cecil Guy, both of whom preceded her in death. She was a child of the Great Depression of the 1930's during the "waste not, want not" era. This deeply affected her perception of how the world should function. Because of one of FDR's programs, she was able to attend college long enough to obtain a teaching certificate from what became Northwest Missouri State College in Maryville, MO. This allowed her to help keep her family afloat in times of need and she was a lifelong Democratic supporter because of it. In addition, helping others less fortunate than herself was a lifelong mission of both herself and her husband, Harlowe Ray McBride.

She met her husband-to-be on a bus out of Kansas City during the war years of WWII and wrote to him and other friends. She used to say, "All of us (girls) wrote to the boys overseas."
During the 1940's she taught school in Cainsville, MO and worked in an airplane factory in Kansas City. When WWII was over, she migrated to Iowa and taught 5th and 6th grade in Pella and Zearing. She and Harlowe were married in 1948. They had four daughters: Anita Dae, Lana Faye, Kathy Rae and Kim Irene.
Since Marjorie had been a teacher, education was always of the utmost importance. According to Anita, "It wasn't a matter of if you go to college, it was a matter of when you went to college. Moreover, we were all expected to take appropriate classes in high school and do as well as we possibly could. There was no arguing with my mother. She was always the final authority, and that was that! She also encouraged all of us to play instruments and sing."
Marjorie was always active in community affairs, as was her husband. She did everything from serving as a band mom and room mother, to serving on the board of the Bethel Evangelical United Brethren - later the United Methodist Church - in Zearing, where she also taught Sunday School and Bible School. All of the McBride girls were sent to Sunday School and confirmed in that church.
After the death of Harlowe in 1974, she continued to manage their farm in Zearing. In 1986, she moved to Ames and was very happy with her retirement. She enjoyed looking at antique dishes and furniture and going out to lunch with her special friends, Maxine Fisher and Noreen Tisdale. She also made clothes, potholders, and quilts for all her children and grandchildren. During the winter, she liked to put up her quilt frames in the living room as she surreptitiously watched University of Iowa basketball games. Three of her daughters had attended the University of Iowa and the other one raised her family in Coralville/Iowa City. Also, she became the family historian of her generation and assembled her family's genealogy before the benefit of the computer era. She discovered that she was a direct descendent of one of Daniel Boone's sisters.
In the year 2000, she had surgery for angioplasty, which meant that she needed more help and in 2001 she became a resident of Bethany Manor in Story City. Over time, she came to accept and appreciate the quality of care she received there and is fondly remembered by the staff there.
Marjorie is survived by her daughter Anita McBride and her husband Terry Rogers of Albuquerque, NM; her daughter Kim Irene Ingraham and her husband Richard Ingraham of New Fairfield, CT; and son-in-law Glenn Davis of Columbia, MO. She has eight grandchildren: Adam Johnson and wife Lindsay of Chicago, IL; Ray Johnson and wife Samantha of Spring, TX, Rachel, Stephen, Owen and Claire Ingraham from New Fairfield, CT, and Janna and Ben Davis from Columbia, MO.
Visitation will be held on Thursday, March 4, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Fredregill Funeral Home in Zearing. Funeral service will be held on Friday, March 5, at 10:30 a.m. at Bethel United Methodist Church in Zearing.
Donations may be sent to Bethel United Methodist Church in Zearing or Bethany Life Communities (Bethany Manor) in Story City.
Fredregill Funeral Home in Zearing, IA is in charge of the arrangements.