Evelyn Louise (Miller) Wethington

Evelyn Louise (Miller) Wethington (April 29, 1931 – July 14, 2023) Evelyn Louise (Miller) Wethington was born April 29, 1931, to Clarence and Flossie (Shrope) Miller outside of Lisbon, Iowa, on their family farm. As a toddler, Ev moved with her parents and younger brother, John, to the Buchanan mansion outside of Mechanicsville, Iowa. Clarence repaired the derelict home, which became his pride and joy. (The house was purchased and moved 8.5 miles in 2009.) Evelyn spent her life in or near that house, raising her own family a quarter mile away with her husband, Robert (Bob). Bob and Ev eventually moved to a new home they had built in Tipton in 2010, but Ev’s heart remained on the farm. She graduated Tipton High School in 1948, after attending country school and skipping the fourth grade, and then worked in the back office at Tipton State Bank until Bob returned from Korea in October 1953. She helped Clarence farm mornings and evenings as well, when John and Bob were both in Korea. She remained a tireless worker her whole life. Ev ran all farm equipment but the combine, working the fields and caring for livestock with Bob. She didn’t milk cows, and she despised chickens (who pecked her hands as she gathered eggs as a child), but she never shied away from a job, no matter how dirty. She rolled up her sleeves and did what was necessary, even (she suspects) sacrificing her first engagement diamond while cleaning out a hog water. She made homemade lard and butter, dressed chickens, canned vegetables from the family garden, and tended the apple orchard. Ev loved her flowers and all plants (except her archfoe sour dock), indoors and out.  She was a fantastic cook, baker, and homemaker, on top of her work outdoors. No children could hope for a more engaged and loving mother, and her grandchildren reaped the same benefits. Ev married Robert B. Wethington (b. 1929/d. 2023) February 1, 1951, in St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Tipton; they met dancing at Hi-Way Gardens in Stanwood. Many decades of dancing followed, as did four children, Jeneane (b. 1955), Michael (b./d. 1957), September (b. 1961/d. 2022), and Larry (b. 1963), and grandchildren Amanda, Nicole, Emma, Connor, and Libbie. Sons-in-law are Russ Flipp, Brian Smith, and Eliot Simon. Beyond dancing, Ev enjoyed card club and traveling, whether on cruise ships or road trips with friends or packing the family in the car for annual summer vacations. Ev traveled to all 50 US states, Canada, Mexico, Australia/New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and several Caribbean nations. She was active in the Catholic Church, as a member of the guild and a Catechism teacher. Always eager to help others, she volunteered reading at the County Home, delivered meals on wheels, and donated several gallons of blood over the years. Ev had a great love for her family; she was its heart and soul. She was quick to laugh, with a playful, mischievous sense of humor. She leaves behind an immense, unfillable void. Services for Evelyn are as follows: visitation at Fry Funeral Home on Wednesday, July 19, 2023 from 4:00pm – 7:00 pm, funeral at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Tipton, on Thursday, July 20, 2023 at 10:30 am, and graveside service at St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery at 11:30 am. A luncheon at St. Mary’s Hall will follow the graveside service.

In lieu of flowers, family will direct memorials to Cedar Manor Nursing Home in Tipton. Online condolences may be shared at www.fryfuneralhome.com