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Bill and Louella Brown
Bill
and Louella Brown
lived in Denver, Colorado before moving to Union.
They have two daughters and a son and three grandchildren.
Their oldest grandson in the Air Force.
Their granddaughter is a CPA in Denver and their third
grandchild is eight years old and still in school.
Louella owned and operated a Tastee Freeze drive in and then
worked in a flower shop.
When her daughter needed her, she quit her job and took care of her
granddaughter. In March of
2005, she and Bill will have been married for 56 years.
Bill and Louella retired in 1987 and moved to Union.
They joined the Union community Church the next year.
Louella has been the Church Clerk, is now a member of the
Worship and Festival Committee and the Nominating committee.
She is the one that makes sure everyone is on the Coffee and
Cookies list and the Greeter’s list. She is active in Willing Workers
and teaches the Adult Sunday School class.
Louella especially enjoys the camaraderie during all church
events. She is an excellent
cook and excels at baking pies.
Her delicious pies enhance the reputation of the Community
Church’s potluck feasts. Bill worked twenty five years as a
policeman in Denver. Since
he joined this church, he has been on the Church Board, belongs to the
Men’s Group and was a member of the Exploratory Committee which planned
and promoted the first church Remodeling Project.
He is the big friendly, congenial guy who loves a joke, even
when it is on him. Bill and
Louella are quick to offer a ride or check on a shut-ins or whatever
they can do as part of our caring congregation.
Bill died August 14, 2005. Please go to
In Memory Page.
Illness has forced Louella to move back to Denver
where her children are living. |
Congregation Index
Ardis Caster
Ardis
Caster has been a Sunday School teacher for fifty eight years. She has
made a difference in the lives of hundreds of young people who attended
the Community Church. She also helped with Vacation Bible School
most of those years. Ardis and her late husband Jim started
hosting a picnic at their farm each year for her Sunday School class.
It just kept growing until the whole congregation was enjoying the pony
rides, games, and all the wonderful food. Ardis has served on the
Church Board, Christian Education Board for many years, Finance Board,
Mission Board and other groups.
Ardis Caster was a public school teacher for
twenty five years, serving in Conrad, Union, and Steamboat Rock.
Again, she touched the lives of hundreds of children. Ardis
still helps care for children in her daughter's Day Care Center.
She has three children, James, John, and Jennifer, and seven
grandchildren. Jennifer and her family also
attend the Community Church.
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Congregation Index
Kathy Catherwood
I
was born 1941 in Eldora, Iowa. I spent most of my life in the Hardin
and Marshall county areas. Don and I married in 1983. We have
a combined family of seven children, sixteen grandchildren, and
eight great grandchildren. We both enjoy camping, fishing and the
outdoors. I've worked as a cook, housekeeper, nurse aide, med aide,
and also at Dodger Manufacturing. Of all these jobs, I liked being a
nurse aide the best. It was very satisfying being able to help
someone at a time in their lives when they needed help.
Kathy joined the Union Community Church in May of 2004 and faithfully
attends Worship Services. |
Congregation Index
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Colleen and Rodger
Christensen moved the Union in November 1991 from an acreage on
Route # 1 Marshalltown. We have three boys. Curtis is in
Miami, Jon is in St. Louis, and Brian lives in Waterloo.
Rodger retired from the Marshalltown Times-Republican newspaper,
and Colleen retired from the Marshalltown Hospital. We
joined the Community Church of Union in 1994. We
like living in Union. We enjoy the people we have become
friends with in Union. Colleen died November 5, 2007.
Please go to the
In Memory
page.
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Congregation Index
Gordon and Marvyl Clemens
are long time members of the Union Community Church.
Both Gordon and Marvyl have served on many board and committees
in our Church and have always been active, enthusiastic
participants in the affairs of the Church. Gordon is
everyone's good neighbor. He often delivers mail to
shut-ins, checks on the residents of Union's Senior Citizen
Housing Apartments and delivers "Meals on Wheels".
He and Marvyl provide transportation to doctor's appointments as
needed or other essential transportation needs. Marvyl has
been a volunteer at the Union Public Library for seventeen
years. Before their retirement, Gordon was an
instructor at the State Training School for Boys, and Marvyl
worked at Dodgers. Two of Gordon and Marvyl's three
children, Berry Clemons and Candy Wait, along with their
families also attend the Community Church. |
Congregation Index

Barry, Peg, Brandon,
and Ryan Clemens
Barry
grew up in Union and has always gone to the Union Community
Church. Peg grew up in Whitten and went to the Methodist
church there. Later Peg went to the Whitten Church when
the Methodist Church joined with the Whitten Church. Barry
and Peg both graduated from Union-Whitten High School.
Barry and Peg were married in the Union Community Church on
September 6, 1980. That's when Peg became a member of the
church. Brandon and Ryan made their first appearance in
church when they were one week old and have continued to be
active members ever since. Brandon and Ryan were dedicated
into the church when they were infants. Brandon became a
member of the church in 2004 and Ryan was baptized into the
church in 2004. Barry and Peg have been involved in many
of the organizations within the church with Peg currently being
the Secretary of the Church Board. During our time in the
church we have seen several ministers come and go. We have
been through difficult times and joyous times in the church.
This church has been a big part of our spiritual lives.
Our church family has watched us grow as a family and have been
there to support us, cheer us on, and pick us up when we needed
it. And most of all, we have felt the prayers of all our
very supportive church family. |
Congregation Index

Frank and Mary Cook
Frank and I feel that we belong to a warm and
friendly church. We both enjoy friends stopping in to see
us. Frank has said many times, it is nice to belong to a
Church that cares.
Frank and Mary are almost always in church. They do not
let a wheel chair keep them from coming to church or enjoying
the fellowship they have with their friends after church.
Frank and Mary are strong supporters of the Church's Building
Project, giving their moral support and their recourses to
help make it a success.
Frank died November 27th, 2007. Please go to the
In Memory page. |
Congregation Index

Samuel Crain
I
"I was born in the Eldora hospital.
I grew up on a farm in Zearing. After graduating in
1971, I attended MCC. I was married in 1976.
We had two sons, one lives in Cedar Falls, my youngest is serving in
the Navy in Iraq. After working as a bridge and
construction inspector for 15 years, I sustained a TBI , tramatic
brain injury in 1998. I was unable to do my job with
Marshall County and went to work for Pursel Davis Funeral Home.
I moved to Union after my wife filed for divorce in 2001. "
After his brain injury, with great determination and effort, Sam
relearned the skills needed to live a normal life. He even
relearned how to play the guitar. Sam is a good singer, and sings
in the Church Choir. As a member of our church family,
Sam has helped us all to redefine the meaning of courage.
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Congregation Index
Steve Cox and Cynthia Knight and Family
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Cynthia
Knight writes " The Community Church is home. It's a place
where everybody knows your name. My childhood was very
rich because of this church family. I remember sitting
in the pew and playing the disappearing dime trick. I
remember singing "Onward Christian Soldiers" with Clint Brace
and later attending his funeral with my Dad. It was the
first funeral I had attended. I remember laughing at the
Halloween parties as I tried to guess who everyone was.
The Junior Choir was a highlight for me. You have
fulfilled your obligation of raising me in the Christian
faith. Thank you, Community Church family, from the
bottom of my heart for fulfilling your promise at my
baptism." Steve and Cynthia
and their family live in Anckey. Cynthia works for
the State Department of Education and Steve works for the
State Library. Cynthia is director of the Church
Choir.
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Congregation Index |
Larry and Peggy
Daniels, Ben and Laura
Jeanette
Davis moved to Union in 1941 when her father
became pastor of the Community Church.
Then it was called the Federated Church.
She graduated from Union High School in 1943 and
attended William Penn College for one year and passed the
test to qualify as a teacher.
She first taught in a rural school at Alden.
Later she taught second and third grades at Liscomb
for a few years.
Jeanette married and lived on a farm near Union for
19 years where she reared two daughters, Judy Orgel and Mary
Ann Reese. She
now has four grandchildren and six great grandchildren.
Jeanette Davis moved to southern Illinois in 1965 and
married Cliff Davis the next year.
When he passed away in 1990, she moved back to Union
and transferred her membership back to the Community Church.
Jeanette is always in church and enjoys the sermons
and fellowship.
She especially enjoys the social time after church and the
opportunity to visit with other church members and renew
friendships.
Jeanette has been a strong supporter of the Building
Project. She
says the new building is so convenient and so beautiful.
It is an asset to the whole community.
Jeanette Davis is currently a member of the Memorial
Committee. She
has served on the Finance Committee and always helps with
the Bazaar and with Coffee and Cookies.
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Congregation Index

Marlene Donaldson
Bob
and I have been married for 46 years. We have three
children and six grandchildren. Bob drove a semi for eight
years and I rode with him. We traveled all over the United
States and into Canada. For the last eight years I have
worked as a Home Care Aide. I have met some very
interesting people. I do housework and personal care for
these person. We hope to keep them in their homes as long
as possible. |
Congregation Index
Don Fehrle
Don
Fehrle is almost always in church. He arrives at the
Church a bit early every Sunday in case anyone needs help using
the chairlift. He served as a member of the Kitchen
committee when the church building was remodeled. Don has
a daughter, Debbie Clemons and two grandchild |
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