Marie Riessen

Marie Semphena Henning was born May 9, 1922, the daughter of Frank and Semphena Schneider Henning. She passed away Sunday, October 27, 2013, at the Denison Health Care Center in Denison, Iowa, at the age of ninety-one.
Marie was born on a farm near Charter Oak, Iowa. She was baptized in Christ on June 4, 1922, and confirmed on April 14, 1935, at St. John's Lutheran Church in Charter Oak. She received her early education in a rural school near her home and then attended St. John’s Lutheran School in Charter Oak and graduated from the Charter Oak High School in 1939. After completing her education Marie worked at the Jones Locker in Charter Oak for several years. On March 7, 1943, Marie was united in marriage to Orville Riessen at St. John's Lutheran Church and the couple was blessed with the birth of two children. They purchased the family farm and farmed until 1977. Marie was very active in the running of the family farm, always looking forward every spring to the arrival of chicks and ducklings, gardening, and canning.
Marie worked at the Crawford County Memorial Hospital in Denison for five years as a ward clerk. After retiring from farming, Marie and Orville worked for Motel 6 Company, managing properties for 10 years in Columbus, Georgia, and Manhattan, Kansas. After their return to Iowa she was employed at the Ho Hum Motel in Denison.
She loved baking and was known for her round bread loaves, homemade angel food cakes,and custard pies. She and Orville loved to go dancing, play cards, and socialize with friends and family. Time spent with her children and grandchildren was very special to Marie. She was a life-long member of St. John's Lutheran Church in Charter Oak.
Marie was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Orville in 2011; her son-in-law, John Halbur in 2012; two sisters, Hildegard Schrader and her husbands, Carl Bartels and Roy Schrader; and Katie Hesse and her husband, August; brothers-in-law: Raymond, Leonard, Milo Riessen and Arlo Jahn; one sister-in-law, Florence Griffin and her husband, Laurence. Survivors include her daughter, Jean Halbur of Carroll; her son, Jerald Riessen of Mendota Heights, Minnesota; two grandchildren, Bryce McMullen and his wife, Jessica and their children: Logan and DJ of Denison, Iowa; and Michael McMullen and his wife, Tara and their children, Lillian and Jacob of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; five step-grandchildren and their families; three sisters-in-law, Ruth Riessen of Vail; Elvira Riessen and Arlene Jahn, both of Denison; one brother-in-law, Arlo Riessen and his wife, Marlys of Green Valley, Arizona; other relatives and friends