Betty J. Gessman

Private Graveside Services will be held at a later date.
Betty Jean Gessman was born May 18, 1929, in rural Dow City, Iowa, the daughter of John and Maude Lochmiller. She passed away Saturday, May 12, 2018, at Manilla Manor in Manilla, Iowa, at the age of eighty-eight.
Betty received her education in the Dow City schools and was a 1947 graduate of Dow City High School. She continued her education at a business school in Omaha, Nebraska, before her marriage to Donald Gessman on March 6, 1949, at the United Presbyterian Church in Denison, Iowa. The couple settled on the family farm and were blessed with the birth of three daughters.
Having been an accomplished pianist, music was of special interest to her and she particularly enjoyed hymns and 40's music. She also enjoyed being a china painter and interior decorator. Other hobbies included reading devotionals and animal stories. After moving to town, she enjoyed gardening and flowers, and being a member of Better Homes & Gardens. In her younger years, she played cards with her husband in a card club. Betty had a quiet and simple demeanor and wasn't one to be flowery.
Betty was preceded in death by her husband, Donald; parents and two brothers, Drexel and Dennis. Survivors include: three daughters: Kathy and her husband, David; Pam and her husband, Mark; and Elkie and her husband, Kent; four grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; other relatives and friends.