Lela Leona Zortman Cutler was born the first daughter of Harlan and Mary Garrett Zortman on 13 Sept. 1910 near Onawa, Monona County, Iowa. She attended country school and went on to ride a horse to the nearest high school, at Onawa, graduating in 1928. She eloped with her sweetheart, Merle Tisdale Cutler, to Kalamazoo, Michigan where they married on 28 Aug. 1928. The Great Depression began and they soon had three small children to care for: Wilbur, Joanne and Janis. Merle worked for Joe Kirk for years, and they rented a "little house on the corner" near Whiting. In 1946, their youngest son, Daniel, was born. And in 1954 they purchased a farm near Sloan, Iowa, called the "old McCandless Place." The house was a unique design called a Prairie style, and the farm was also known as Silver Ridge Farm. They stayed for the rest of their lives. Children and grandchildren came for holidays and family dinners. Merle farmed with the active help of Lela, who raised chickens and sold the eggs. Lela was a member of the United Congregational Church in Sloan. She lovingly cared for Merle when he became ill the last year of his life, and it was a blow to her when he passed away in 1993. But she continued to be active, volunteering for the second hand store in Onawa which benefited the Onawa Memorial Hospital. We lost her in Feb. 2001 and her grandchildren will always remember her with love.
Lela Leona Zortman Cutler was born the first daughter of Harlan and Mary Garrett Zortman on 13 Sept. 1910 near Onawa, Monona County, Iowa. She attended country school and went on to ride a horse to the nearest high school, at Onawa, graduating in 1928. She eloped with her sweetheart, Merle Tisdale Cutler, to Kalamazoo, Michigan where they married on 28 Aug. 1928. The Great Depression began and they soon had three small children to care for: Wilbur, Joanne and Janis. Merle worked for Joe Kirk for years, and they rented a "little house on the corner" near Whiting. In 1946, their youngest son, Daniel, was born. And in 1954 they purchased a farm near Sloan, Iowa, called the "old McCandless Place." The house was a unique design called a Prairie style, and the farm was also known as Silver Ridge Farm. They stayed for the rest of their lives. Children and grandchildren came for holidays and family dinners. Merle farmed with the active help of Lela, who raised chickens and sold the eggs. Lela was a member of the United Congregational Church in Sloan. She lovingly cared for Merle when he became ill the last year of his life, and it was a blow to her when he passed away in 1993. But she continued to be active, volunteering for the second hand store in Onawa which benefited the Onawa Memorial Hospital. We lost her in Feb. 2001 and her grandchildren will always remember her with love.
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