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Donella Cook, 89, of Creston, died Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, at Crest Haven Care Centre in Creston. Celebration of Life Services will be 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 26,, at Powers Funeral Home in Afton. Pastor Phil Price will officiate. Services will be livestreamed. Burial will be at Greenlawn Cemetery in Afton at a later date. Open visitation, with the family to receive friends, will be from 9-10:30 a.m. before services on Saturday, at Powers Funeral Home in Afton. Casual attire or Kansas City Chiefs attire is requested.
Memorials can be directed to the family to be determined. Online condolences may be made at www.powersfh.com.
Donella Louise Cook was born Jan. 22, 1935, to Ray Wilbur Marsh and Mary Alice (Wardrip) Marsh in Ringgold County. She lived all her life in Iowa, except for the three years that she spent in Oregon as a preschooler. She attended country school through the eighth grade and graduated from Mount Ayr High School in 1953.
Donella was united in marriage to James Walter Cook on June 29, 1952. She worked at Banker’s Life in Des Moines while Jim was in the Army in Japan. They farmed for a few years and moved to Red Oak for four years, then lived in Waterloo for two years before making their home in Creston. Donella baked and decorated wedding cakes while being an active mother and homemaker and worked for several years as a bookkeeper, retiring from S.W. Distributing after 23 years. She loved crocheting, sewing, bowling, reading and in her later years she enjoyed oil painting and painting the many crafts Jim made. She became a Kansas City Chiefs fan when Mahomes became the quarterback and enjoyed watching soap operas, like the Bold and the Beautiful since 1987, recording daily so she never missed an episode. Donella attended Crest Baptist Church in Creston.
Survivors include her husband, Jim Cook of Creston; four daughters: Lynnette Gross, of Apache Junction, Arizona, Lisa Johns of Creston, Leanna Cook of Afton and Lori (Rick) McIntosh of Creston; 17 grandchildren: Anthony Gross (Crystal Sterling) of Clarinda, Joel Gross of Apache Junction, Michael Johns of Creston, Sonya Clayton of Creston, Janelle (Josh) Hamilton of Afton, Jayrd (Jacquie) Merritt of Creston, Caleb (Becky) McGuire of Afton, Jacob (Latisha) McGuire of Afton, Brooke (John) Berg of Creston, Rheanna (Tyler) Pettit of Creston and Shelbi Synder of Creston; 27 great-grandchildren; eight great-great-grandchildren; many nieces, nephews and other family members.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Ray and Mary Alice Marsh; her in-laws, James and Mrytle Cook; son in-law, Sterling Johns; grandson, Jason Clayton; granddaughter, Vicky Gross; great-granddaughter, Oaklyn Grace; her brothers and sisters in-law, Richard (Marilyn) Cook, Marie Judah and Mike (Pat) Smith.