Martha Groth, 82, died Monday, Sept. 30, 2013, at Saint Lukes Hospital in Cedar Rapids. Martha was a avid bird watcher and had many bird feeders set up around her property. She was doing what she loved to do; feeding the birds, changing the water and adding feed to the feeders, when she suffered an apparent brain aneurysm. She was found in the yard and rushed to Saint Lukes Hospital in Cedar Rapids, where she succumbed. Martha was born March 25, 1931, in Cedar Rapids, to loving parents, Louis Allen and Agnes Helen (Voves) Coberly and welcomed by two anxious brothers, Stanley and Willard. She lived her entire life on a farm near Shellsburg, graduated from The Shellsburg High School in 1948, and a year later married Richard "Dick" Ernest Groth at the Oak Grove Church in Shellsburg on June 26, 1949. They were parents of six children, four boys and two girls. Three of the children died in infancy, with Richard Ernest, Donald Allen and Sandra Jean surviving. Dick and Martha farmed and owned and operated the Shellsburg Locker plant until 1988, then continued farming until 1997 when their health required them to retire. Martha loved to read and was interested in politics and kept up to date on current events in Iowa and the nation. She was equally interested in family history and was a tremendous help to family members in Colorado who have been doing family research for over 50 years. This past June while in Iowa for the Coberly reunion, they spent an afternoon with Martha, Caroline Lala and Camille Ray. All kinds of family information was shared. Martha had many family pictures and documents, they were able to scan and preserve for the Coberly Family Tree. She is survived by three of her children; Richard and wife Carol, Donald and wife Cindy and daughter Sandy Koppen; seven grand children and five great-grandchildren also survive her. Martha was so proud of her family. Memorial services were held 11 a.m. Friday, October 11th at the Zion Lutheran Church in Shellsburg, followed by committal services at 2 p.m., at Cedar Memorial Park Cemetery, in Cedar Rapids. Beside her parents, three infant children, and her husband, she was preceded in death by her two brothers, Stanley Robert and Jack Willard. Martha is in Heaven resting with her family and the Angels, while we mortals stand in awe by our huge loss.
Martha Groth, 82, died Monday, Sept. 30, 2013, at Saint Lukes Hospital in Cedar Rapids. Martha was a avid bird watcher and had many bird feeders set up around her property. She was doing what she loved to do; feeding the birds, changing the water and adding feed to the feeders, when she suffered an apparent brain aneurysm. She was found in the yard and rushed to Saint Lukes Hospital in Cedar Rapids, where she succumbed. Martha was born March 25, 1931, in Cedar Rapids, to loving parents, Louis Allen and Agnes Helen (Voves) Coberly and welcomed by two anxious brothers, Stanley and Willard. She lived her entire life on a farm near Shellsburg, graduated from The Shellsburg High School in 1948, and a year later married Richard "Dick" Ernest Groth at the Oak Grove Church in Shellsburg on June 26, 1949. They were parents of six children, four boys and two girls. Three of the children died in infancy, with Richard Ernest, Donald Allen and Sandra Jean surviving. Dick and Martha farmed and owned and operated the Shellsburg Locker plant until 1988, then continued farming until 1997 when their health required them to retire. Martha loved to read and was interested in politics and kept up to date on current events in Iowa and the nation. She was equally interested in family history and was a tremendous help to family members in Colorado who have been doing family research for over 50 years. This past June while in Iowa for the Coberly reunion, they spent an afternoon with Martha, Caroline Lala and Camille Ray. All kinds of family information was shared. Martha had many family pictures and documents, they were able to scan and preserve for the Coberly Family Tree. She is survived by three of her children; Richard and wife Carol, Donald and wife Cindy and daughter Sandy Koppen; seven grand children and five great-grandchildren also survive her. Martha was so proud of her family. Memorial services were held 11 a.m. Friday, October 11th at the Zion Lutheran Church in Shellsburg, followed by committal services at 2 p.m., at Cedar Memorial Park Cemetery, in Cedar Rapids. Beside her parents, three infant children, and her husband, she was preceded in death by her two brothers, Stanley Robert and Jack Willard. Martha is in Heaven resting with her family and the Angels, while we mortals stand in awe by our huge loss.
Bio by: Thelma (Payne) Coberly
