Posted: April 14, 2009 |(0) Comments

Elva M. Simons (nee Iversen) of St. Francis died March 1, 2009, at age 87, and Clyde A. Simons of St. Francis died Dec. 28, 2008, at age 86.

They were former residents of Storm Lake, Iowa, and moved to St. Francis in 2007 to be near their daughter and her family. They were married at the Little Brown Church in Nashua, Iowa, on April 19, 1946. They celebrated 62 years of marriage and had three children.

Elva was born in Storm Lake on Dec. 6, 1921. Clyde was born in Cherokee County, Iowa, on Oct. 6, 1922.

Elva graduated from Newell High School and majored in elementary education at Buena Vista College, where she also worked for several professors and sang in the Buena Vista College Choir.

She taught first- and second-graders at Mt. Pleasant, Aurelia and Cleghorn schools in northwest Iowa. She later served as the financial secretary at Lakeside Presbyterian Church in Storm Lake. She enjoyed the fellowship of both the Danish Sisterhood of America and the Ingleside Study Club.

Among her many interests were reading, sewing and handwork. Always loyal to her Danish heritage, she had a heartfelt hospitality.

Clyde graduated from Cleghorn High School. While attending Buena Vista College on a football scholarship, he had his collegiate career interrupted by service to his country.

He enlisted in the U.S. Army at age 18 and was assigned to an anti-tank division. He was reclassified and assigned to Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Forces in London under the direct command of Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower. He remained with Gen. Eisenhower inside Forward Headquarters as Allied troops marched deeper into Europe; Forward followed the Allied troop lines, moving offices first to Versailles and then to Reims, France. Clyde hand-carried the German notice of surrender from the communications room to Gen. Eisenhower's office; he later witnessed the signing of the surrender. A Good Conduct medal and the Belgium Croix de Guerre Medal were among his commendations for service.

After the war, he returned to Buena Vista College. He became the first Buena Vista College education graduate contracted to teach in the Storm Lake Community School District, where he taught mathematics and coached for 37 years. He continued his graduate education at Drake University. He retired from the Storm Lake district in 1985.

He was active in his professional organizations and enjoyed the fellowship of the Danish Brotherhood of America. He enjoyed hunting and fishing and was an accomplished carpenter and craftsman.

Together, they volunteered many hours at the polls and participated in the homebound meal delivery program. They were 55-year members of Lakeside Presbyterian Church in Storm Lake, where both were ordained deacons and elders.

They are survived by their daughters, Elayne (Walter) Stover of St. Francis and Christy (Steve) Hopkins of Grimes, Iowa; grandchildren, Andrew and Colten Cebuhar, Adam Simons and fiancée Callie McBroom, Suzanne (Stover) and Dana Nichols, Alec and Natasha, Nancy (Stover) and Mike Thomsen, Kira, Afton and Logan, Mike and Lynn Stover, Drew, Allie and Casey, Mike and Lisa Hopkins, Joey and Brooklyn, Dan and Cheri Hopkins, Ella and Fisher; other relatives and friends.

They were preceded in death by their son, Larry; Clyde's parents, Forrest and Nellie Simons; his brothers, Stanley and Raye Simons; Elva's parents, Olga and Gerner Iversen; and her twin sisters, Ruth Grau and Rella Barwick.

Memorial service for Elva will be Saturday, April 18, at Nain Lutheran Church, Newell, Iowa. Memorial service for Clyde was Jan. 9 at Lakeside Presbyterian Church in Storm Lake.

The family thanks Dr. Timothy Allen for his attentive care, the palliative care staffs of St. Francis and ASLSS hospitals, Pastors Wayne Peach and Karen Hagen, and Andy Stiller at Max Sass Funeral Homes.