Miriam Vorwald

Miriam Vorwald, longtime community leader of Garber and Guttenberg died peacefully Sunday March 25 at the Guttenberg Care Center. Miriam is survived by nine of her ten children: Mary Willford ( Mike Klein) of Dubuque, Janet (Marvin) Rolfes of Colesburg, Barbara (Roger) Bear of Advance, N.C, Patricia (Mark) Larson of Burnsville, MN, Lucinda (James) Johnson of Guttenberg, Jane (David) Moose of Farmersburg, Jennifer (Gary) Schroeder of Garber, Jeffrey Vorwald (Ross Long) of San Francisco, CA, Jerilyn (William) Vincent of Cedar Rapids, one son-in-law, Bill Wright of Savanna, IL, 23 grandchildren,45great-grandchildren and 5 great-great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, Emma and Willard Phares, her husband, Haldane, two brothers, Glenn and Guy Phares, her daughter Kathleen Wright, and two granddaughters, Rachel Wright and Kim Rolfes. Miriam Laverne Phares, was born in Knightstown, IN, on December 10, 1915. She grew up in Knightstown, Del Mar, SD, and Fort Dodge, IA and obtained her college degree from Indiana University. Her first teaching position was at the Elkport School. She married Haldane Herman Vorwald, a farmer, on June 1, 1939, at St. Michael's Church in Garber. Miriam and Haldane lived in the Garber area all of their 34 years of married life. Miriam was 57 when Haldane died in 1973. She continued living in the same house for another 31 years. In May of 2004, after her house was flooded, Miriam moved to an apartment in Guttenberg, where she lived until her stroke in October of 2004 After a short time at Dubuque Nursing and Rehab, Miriam moved to the Guttenberg Care Center in April of 2005. Miriam and Haldane raised 10 kids and taught them to help raise each other. They created a happy household full of responsible, resourceful, productive children. There was always a job to do, a book to read, a song to sing , a game to play and an ear to listen. Their legacy is a tribe that is rich in love and has a strong sense of belonging. Long before it was trendy to recycle or eat organically, Miriam and Haldane lived that simple and practical lifestyle. Fresh warm milk from Bossy the cow tasted delicious on cereal every morning. The waistband of Dads worn out underwear made a perfect rubber band for keeping the lid on the Monopoly box. During her 16 year-long maternity leave from teaching, Miriam taught piano and accordion ,was a 4-H Leader, organized Red Cross swimming lessons and transportation for the young swimmers, spearheaded the delivery of two newspapers, played in a local band, played for most weddings and funerals, and was St. Michael's organist each Sunday. When Miriam resumed teaching in 1955 she taught French , English, Journalism, Math, and German at Guttenberg High School. During her 23 years there, Miriam directed plays, coached speech, was sr. class advisor, yearbook advisor and president of the teachers union. Although she retired from her career at age 63, Miriam continued her passion for education. Years before there was "Google" there was Miriam; she was the go-to person for factual information. Up until her death, the breadth and depth of her knowledge, her extensive world travel, her love of learning, and her unique humor made her an interesting and delightful person of resource. A voracious reader, herself, Miriam created a small library for Garber and maintained it for 20 years. She served two terms as Garber's mayor. Miriam was an enthusiastic member of many community organizations, it was often joked that Miriam became president of everything she joined. She especially enjoyed being the chairperson of the Clayton County Farm Bureau Women's Club and was named "Farm Bureau Woman of The Year" in 1995. She participated in the Proteus Club of Elkader and Happy Homemaker's Club of Garber. As part of the Guttenberg Red Hat Society, Miriam was granted her wish of wanting to fly a plane.. So in 2005 she was thrilled to "co-pilot" a small plane and flew from Guttenberg to Garber and back, thanks to Joann Svoboda. After assisting in writing the history of the Clayton County schools for the Clayton County Historical Society, Miriam went on to write the 1853-1993 history of Elkport and Garber. Devoting over a year of her life to this community project, Miriam, at age 78, worked daily to research and type the entire 570 page book for the Clayton County Genealogical Society. This was before she bought a computer at age 84. In 1996, for years of dedication to St. Michael's Catholic Church, Miriam was honored in the form of a Papal Blessing from Pope John Paul II as longtime choir director and church organist of 45 years. A gifted musician, Miriam played the piano, organ, accordion, guitar, and ukulele. After receiving a harp for her 80th birthday she taught herself to play it. Community and family gatherings relied on her to provide the musical fun. The performer in her was also channeled through acting in plays with the Elkader Opera House Players. While living at the Guttenberg Care Center, Miriam served on the Resident's Planning Committee, taught a small French Class, and took great pleasure in the twice monthly field trip outings provided by the Activities Department. She was the editor for two published books developed through the Activities Department. Miriam was deeply appreciative of the respectful and generous care she received from all the staff at the Guttenberg Care Center. Miriam delighted in her family's tribal gatherings for her December birthday and July picnics. One of her favorite traditions of recent years came on Mother's Day, when her children would kidnap her from the Care Center and whisk her away for a secluded family weekend. Miriam demonstrated daily that attitude is everything. When faced with hardships, Miriam never complained. Instead, she endured them with grit and grace; using her practicality, her intellect, her humor and her faith as her guide.Visitation: Wednesday 4:00 - 7:00 P.M. March 28, 2012 at the Tuecke-Allyn Funeral Home Guttenberg, Iowa and one hour before service at church.Funeral Service: Thursday 10:00 A.M March 29, 2012 at St. Joseph's Catholic Church Garnavillo, IowaInterment: Interment will be private. Service Information A service summary is not available