Audrey Marple, age 99 of Sac City, IA, passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on Saturday, April 24, 2021, at Park View Rehabilitation Center in Sac City.
Audrey Joyce Richardson was born September 1, 1921, near Nemaha, Iowa in Sac County. She was the firstborn to her parents Frank and Irene (Hoech) Richardson. She was baptized at the Nemaha Methodist Church and was affiliated with the Methodist churches of Nemaha and Sac City all her life.
Audrey entered school at Nemaha. While in fifth grade, the family moved to a farm near Sac City where she graduated with the class of 1938. After attending Iowa State Teachers College (UNI) in Cedar Falls, she taught school at Archer and Aurelia, Iowa.
Audrey was united in marriage to Clyde Marple on December 16, 1942, at the United Methodist Church in Sac City. They lived the first two years of their married life on a farm near Fonda. Their next home was on a farm near Nemaha close to Audrey’s birthplace, where they lived for 55 years and raised two children, Dennis and Debra. In 1968-69 they added to their family by hosting an exchange student, Cecilia Heinrich from Malmo, Sweden. In 1998 they moved to Oak Terrace Estates in Sac City; Clyde passed away in 2007, and Audrey continued to live there until moving to Park View in 2016.
Audrey enjoyed traveling. She and Clyde traveled in nearly all 50 states and in Europe. She served on the organizing committee of the Nemaha Federated Women’s Club and was active with the Nemaha United Methodist Church, serving on the church board, in UMW, and teaching Sunday School. Sewing, making quilts, reading, puzzles and playing cards were her hobbies. Audrey was happy helping Clyde with the farming whenever necessary and continued her interest in farming after moving to town. In her later years, she enjoyed the weekly Bingo games and the Bible Study groups at Park View as well as outings for fishing, boat rides, breakfast, and rides around the countryside.
Left to miss her smile and encouraging words are her son Dennis and wife Jan of Auburn, Alabama; her daughter Debra of Sac City, Iowa; and exchange student Cecilia Stenstrom of Lund, Sweden; grandchildren Mary Lynne (Dudley) Dent of Auburn, Alabama and David (Erica) Marple of Sandy Springs, Georgia; great-grandchildren Baxter and Virginia Dent, Gianna and Milan Guenther, and Rocco and Giovanni Marple. Other survivors include many nieces, nephews, extended family members, and a host of friends.
Audrey was preceded in death by her husband Clyde; her parents; her brother Neil (Rosemary) Richardson; parents-in-law Wilbur and Ethel Marple; sisters-in-law Maurine (LaVerne, Ben) Carlson Bogue and Geraldine (Richard) Mullins; and brothers-in-law Claire (Mavis) Marple and Kenneth (Delores) Marple.
Memorials may be made in Audrey's memory to the following places:
Nemaha United Methodist Church
120 4th Avenue North
Nemaha, Iowa 50567
Sac City Public Library
1001 West Main Street
Sac City, Iowa 50583
