Marceline Abbott

Marceline (Evans) Abbott was born March 19, 1928, to Washington Ward Evans and Lois Mabel (Brackenridge) Evans. She was born in a two-room little cabin built by her dad from lumber taken out of a corn crib. The cabin is still on the family farm to this day. She was their only child. She began her schooling by attending the one-room schoolhouse that was located near her current home. They later moved to a house in the Tiffin area where she attended high school at El Dorado Springs High School. She was a beautiful young lady with blond curly hair and brown eyes. She acted in the school plays and was crowned the Harvest Queen in her day.
On August 23, 1947, she married Elmer A. Abbott in Atlantic, Iowa when he was home on leave from the U.S. Navy. When Elmer got out of the service, he and Marceline made their home in the Tiffin area in a rented house. They began farming together and raising a family. To their union they had three children, Connie, Marcia and Susan. Marceline was a very resourceful young wife and mother. She raised a big garden and sewed all their clothes. She and Elmer believed in the philosophy of "owe no man anything but to love", making debt not an option. They began saving money to buy their first farm. It took 20 years of saving, but they managed to buy their first farm and then their second farm of which they moved to the two-story farmhouse which stood on it. They lived the rest of their lives in that two-story farmhouse near Taberville.
Marceline attended church at Pape Christian church at an early age. She was baptized in Clear Creek down by the bridge west of the church. She attended church at Pape her entire life and brought each of her children to church when they were born.
She was a true Proverbs 31 woman. She was an incredible helpmate to Elmer and would go to the fields with him and worked alongside him. She raked hay, drove grain trucks, rode on the back of the planter as he planted crops and helped disk and cultivate the ground. Together they continued to save and buy more land to expand their farming operation. Some of these farms would have houses on them so Marceline began a rental house enterprise. She would paint, plumb and do basic carpentry work on them herself. Sewing and gardening were among her talents. Her garden was such that it jokingly could feed a nation, and she was known to can many hundreds of jars of produce for her family. She was a creative seamstress and if she couldn't find a pattern for what she wanted to make, she would make her own patterns out of old newspapers. The clothes she made were detailed with embroidery and smocking. They were works of art.
Marceline had a servant's heart. She would help her neighbors who were sick or elderly. She spent countless hours taking them to get groceries or to doctor's appointments. She would call and check on them and run over if they needed something. She had an amazing gift for being a caretaker and took care of her mother for 10 years after she became an amputee. She wanted her mother to enjoy her own home, so she drove back and forth to her mom's home many times a day caring for her. In later years when Elmer needed care, she cared for him in the home till his passing. On one occasion when Elmer was in the hospital, she stood at the side of his bed for an entire night to be there for him never leaving or sitting down. Her goal for her loved ones was no nursing home. She accomplished her goal.
She loved farm life with her family and was determined to keep the farm going even when Elmer wasn't able to farm himself. She took an interest in the business side of the farm and managed it with success till the very end.
Of all the talents that Marceline had she would say her greatest accomplishment was raising three children who are saved and serving the Lord. She loved that her children lived close by and also were a part of the family farm. She loved them fiercely and never backed down or compromised her convictions in their raising. Her all-time favorite title was that of grandma! She loved spending time with Judd and Cameron and wanted to hear all that they were doing. She prayed for her family for hours a day. Another special person that wasn't her child but who she loved and thought the world of was the man who worked for her, Steve Schlichting.
Marceline was a multi-talented, extremely determined woman who had a lot of grit and stamina. She was a woman ahead of her time and example for us all. Her faith in God was huge and unwavering. She believed in God's goodness at all times and now sees Jesus face to face.
Survivors include her children, Connie Abbott of the home, Marcia Abbott, and Susan Abbott Lawson (Bob); step-grandson, Cameron Lawson; and grandson, Judd Lawson.
In honor of Marceline donations may be made to The Pape Christian Church Youth Fund.