Lois Rogers Godwin

A Celebration of Life service for Lois Honor Rogers Godwin, 98, of Indianola, who passed away Tuesday, August 26, 2025, will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, September 6, 2025 at the Indianola First United Methodist Church. The family will greet friends prior to service from 9 to 11 a.m. Inurnment of cremains will follow in the Indianola I.O.O.F. Cemetery.

Lois was born on June 15, 1927 in Carroll, Iowa. She grew up on Pinehurst Farm in Carroll County with her parents Everett and Madeline Rogers and siblings Jane, Everett and James. Her grade school days were spent at Maple River #9, and she attended high school at Carroll High, where she was a member of the Rainbow organization.

Lois attended Simpson College in Indianola and was a member of Theta Epsilon social sorority. When her older sister Jane married Roy Godwin, Lois met Roy's brother and her future husband Alden, whom she married on June 15, 1948. After graduating from Simpson, they lived in Des Moines, where Alden worked for Dunn and Bradstreet and Lois for Bankers Life. On December 24, 1950 their first daughter, Caroline Kay, was born.

In 1951, they moved to Indianola when Alden joined his brothers, Roy, Earl, and Charles, at Godwin Brothers Plumbing and Heating. Lois and Alden welcomed two more daughters, Elizabeth Ann on August 27, 1953, and Joyce Lynn on April 15, 1957. Family was important to Lois, who was a supportive mother to her daughters and made sure they took piano lessons and played instruments in school. She and Alden attended every recital and concert, and Lois was a Bluebird and Camp Fire Girls leader for all three daughters.

Godwin Brothers built the Jefferson Nursing Home in 1963, where Lois worked in the office from 1969 until her retirement in 1993. She continued volunteering there until she was 93. The Methodist Church was important to Lois all of her life. She and her family attended regularly and she was an active member of United Methodist Women.

Lois was a helper. In addition to volunteering at her church, she also volunteered at the Good Samaritan Center, Helping Hand and Meals on Wheels, and she often drove friends and neighbors without transportation to do basic errands. In her spare time, she enjoyed reading, needlework and tending to the flowers in her yard. Lois will be remembered by all for her smile, which stayed with her all of her life. She was kind, patient and generous, and could always see beneath the surface and appreciate people for who they were.

Her gentle presence will be missed by all who knew and loved her.

Lois is survived by her daughters Caroline (Rustin) Larson, Elizabeth (Robert) Godwin-Jones and Joyce Godwin; grandchildren Jacob (Yanli) Xiao, Molly Godwin-Jones, Luke (Lingling Sun) Godwin-Jones, Emma Godwin-Jones, Katharine Larson, Sarah Larson and Julia Larson; great-grandchildren Cayden Godwin-Jones, Lilli Godwin-Jones, Lorelei Petty, Zachary Xiao and Ivy Xiao; brother James (Mary Lou) Rogers, and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Alden Godwin; parents Everett and Madeline Rogers, sister Jane Godwin and brother Everett Rogers.

Memorials in memory of Lois may be given to the Indianola First United Methodist Church or Helping Hand in Indianola. To sign an online condolence, visit our website at www.overtonfunerals.com.