Ethel O. (Van Velkinburg) Harden

Ethel O. Harden, 89, of Tipton, passed away on Friday, May 03, 2019 in St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids. A Gathering of Family and Friends to celebrate Ethel’s life will be held on Saturday, May 11, 2019 from 2:00 to 4:00 PM at the Tipton VFW. Graveside services will be at a later date in the Honey Grove Cemetery, rural West Branch, Iowa. Online condolences may be shared at www.fryfuneralhome.com.

Ethel Orabell Van Velkinburg was born on September 21, 1929 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and was the only child of Edward A. and Ethel Young Van Velkinburg. Ethel was a graduate of the Tipton High School and was a member of the Class of 1947. On June 1, 1947 Ethel was united in marriage to John Edward Harden in A Little Bit of Heaven Wedding Chapel in Davenport, Iowa. Ethel helped her husband do most anything on the farm as she and John knew the meaning of hard work and long days. Ethel and John were the parents of two children; Linda and Ed. Ethel and John farmed in the Mt. Vernon/Lisbon area and then returned to Tipton after they retired where they spent their sunset years until John died on April 26, 2013. Ethel continued to live in their home until her health declined when she became a resident of Cedar Manor Nursing Home.

Ethel is survived by her two children, Linda and her husband, Rod Coiner of Tipton, Iowa and her son, Ed Harden of Olin, Iowa; grandchildren, Kathy Hankemeier, Bill Harden, Wes Harden, Scott Harden and Mary Tigerwright; great grandchildren, Steven (Lilly) Hankemieir, Stephanie (Deon) Nelson, Andrew and Haley Stewart and Jasper Harden; great-great-grandchildren, Eleanor Hankemeier and Jaden Nelson, and numerous nieces and nephews. Ethel was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, John, and her granddaughter, Kandy Tigerwright.

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