Obituaries

Marleen Thelen, age 72, of Carroll, Iowa, died Friday, May 16, 2008, at Mercy Hospital Medical Center in Des Moines, Iowa. Mass of the Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30 A.M., Tuesday, May 20, 2008, at Holy Spirit Church in Carroll. The Celebrant will be Father James McCormick. Con-celebrant will be Father John Thomas. The casket will be taken to the church at 8:30 A.M. Tuesday to lie in state until the time of the funeral mass. Lector will be a grandson, Christopher Thelen. Gift Bearers will be sisters, Madelyn Huelsing, Mary Gilligan, and Dorothy Childress. Eucharistic Ministers will be her children, Julie Gerdes and Joseph Thelen. The St. Anthony Nurses Alumnae Association will form an honor guard at the church for the funeral mass. Honorary Pallbearers will be grandchildren, Nathan Thelen, Alexander Gerdes, Nicholas Gerdes, Zachary Thelen, and Kaitlyn Thelen. Casket Bearers will be grandchildren, Christopher Thelen, Andrew Thelen, Melissa Thelen, Daniel Thelen, Brandon Steinkuehler, Karisa Thelen, Trey Gerdes, and Tanner Thelen. Graveside Services will be held at 1:30 P.M. Tuesday at St. Ann Cemetery in Vail, Iowa. Friends may call at the Sharp Funeral Home in Carroll after 2:30 P.M. Monday. A rosary will be prayed at 3 P.M. Monday by the Legion of Mary. There will be a Christian wake service at 7 P.M. Monday by Holy Spirit Parish. Mrs. Thelen was born on June 15, 1935, at Vail, Iowa, the daughter of William and Iila (Miller) Schloesser. She spent most of her lifetime in the Vail and Westside communities and graduated from St. Ann High School in 1953. She then graduated from the St. Anthony School of Nursing in Carroll in 1956 as a Registered Nurse. On August 6, 1956, she was married to Norman J. Thelen at St. Ann Church in Vail. The couple lived in Carroll until 1965 when they moved to their farm south of Westside. The Thelen’s moved to Carroll in August 2004. Mrs. Thelen was employed in the O.B. Department at St. Anthony Regional Hospital from 1956 until 1972 to help subsidize the families farm income. She was a member of Holy Spirit Parish and Parish Ladies Guild and a long time member of St. Ann Parish and Parish Ladies Guild in Vail. She was also a member of the Legion of Mary and St. Anthony Nurses Alumnae Association. Mrs. Thelen enjoyed her family, gardening, playing cards, baking, cooking, traveling, and sewing. Survivors include her husband, Norman Thelen of Carroll; children, Joseph Thelen and his wife Cherith of Denison, James Thelen and his wife Alanna of Denison, Jeffrey Thelen of Birmingham, Alabama, Thomas Thelen and his wife Pamela of St. Louis, Missouri, and Julie Gerdes and her husband David of Ankeny; 13 grandchildren; sisters, Madelyn Huelsing and her husband Marvin of Maple River, Mary Gilligan and her husband Tim of Gretna, Nebr., and Dorothy Childress and her husband Leroy of Denison; brothers, Martin Schloesser and his wife Kay of Calhan, Colorado, Melvin Schloesser and his wife Diane of Phoeniz, Ariz., and Michael Schloesser of Calhan, Colorado; and sisters and brothers-in-law, Linda Hoffman of Carroll, Florence Thelen of Atlantic, Marcile Hoffman of Carroll, Eugene and Kay Thelen of Des Moines, Sylvester and Kay Thelen, Jr. of Templeton, Ralph Thelen of Davenport, Norbert and Jean Thelen of Anita, Lawrence and Cecelia Thelen of Vail, Mary Ann and Allan Ludwig of Carroll, and Lynette and Michael Schaffer of Omaha, Nebraska. She was preceded in death by her parents.