Ramona Ann Tuttle, age 96, died on Wednesday, May 19, at Colonial Manor in Elma, Iowa.
Ramona was born on Sept. 7, 1924 at the farm home of her parents, Ira and Hannah (Blohm) Cox, near Earlham, Iowa. She was the youngest of five children. She and her siblings grew up on the farm, helping her parents as they coped with the Great Depression. She attended country schools and then Earlham High School, graduating in 1942.
After high school, she attended the American Institute of Business in Des Moines to learn accounting, and then took a job in Perry, Iowa, working as a bookkeeper.
In the waning days of World War II, she met a young farmer from the area, George Robert (Bob) Tuttle. The two soon fell in love. Unwilling to wait another year until Bob turned 21 and could marry without his parents' permission, they eloped to Nebraska, which was apparently more lax about such matters. They were married by a justice of the peace in Blair, Nebraska on Mar. 21, 1946.
They began their lives as a farm couple. Children soon followed and they became a farm family — Suzanne in 1947, Robert Michael (Mike) in 1949, and Gary in 1960. As the family expanded, so did their farming endeavors.
They started out working with Bob's parents near Perry, then moved to rented land near Dayton for a decade, and finally were able to buy their own farm near Elma, where they lived and worked for the remainder of their days. They built their lives around their family, the farm, their friends and neighbors, and the local Maple Leaf Lutheran church.
As the kids left the nest and the rigors of running a farm lessened, Ramona and Bob were hit with the travel bug. They embarked on a series of car vacations, eventually visiting 49 states, all of the Canadian provinces and much of Mexico. (They couldn't get the car to Hawaii easily, so they did like everyone else and just flew there.) Their wanderlust expanded, and they began to travel internationally. They took more than a dozen trips, often traveling with their friends. They visited more than 25 countries on six continents. Eventually, they ran out of places that interested them. (Or perhaps they were running out of energy.) They built a small house on the beach near Port St. Joe, Florida so that they could escape the Iowa cold. They spent many balmy winters there walking the beach and entertaining visiting friends and family. They later shifted their winter headquarters to a house in the foothills near Prescott Valley, Arizona, and spent several winters exploring that state. Eventually, maintaining two houses became a challenge for an aging couple, and they returned permanently to their Iowa home.
A firm believer that "idle hands are the devil's playthings", Ramona kept him at bay with many activities. For most of her life, she practiced fiber arts: crocheting, needlepoint, latch-hook, and quilting. If she was in a sitting position, she would almost certainly be working on a project. She finished hundreds of items over the years and kept her kids and grandkids well supplied with quilts and afghans. She was an enthusiastic collector of music boxes. (Or maybe it was an obsession.) She loved to read and devoured novels of all genres. She enjoyed growing flowers in her garden. She loved small dogs and had several tiny companions during her later years. She was always curious about new technology, whether to make work easier or just for fun. There were always new gadgets in the house. In her seventies, she bought a computer and connected it to the internet so that she could keep in touch with the family. And she loved to watch the Minnesota Vikings on TV — usually while crocheting an afghan.
Bob died in 2012. In the years since Ramona soldiered on through her grief and loneliness, bolstered by her kids and grandkids. Now, Ramona and Bob are back together, and the rest of us are left with memories of her long life.
She was a loyal daughter, loving partner, nurturing mother, doting grandmother, and entertaining friend. Her devotion to her family, love of learning, eagerness for adventure, and ironic sense of humor (which could sometimes be expressed with biting tongue) will continue to inspire us.
Ramona was preceded in death by her husband Bob, parents Ira and Hannah, siblings Marge, George, Christine (Teen), and Lawrence (Bus), and one grandson, Greg Holmstrom.
She is survived by her children: Suzanne Holmstrom, Mike Tuttle (Sherry), and Gary Tuttle (Sandy); nine grandchildren: Jeff Holmstrom (Sandy), Kara Holmstrom (Will), Sara Sires (Nathan), Kim Steege (Luke), Tracy Campbell (Chad), Shawn Tuttle, Ben Tuttle (Liza), Jackie Kester (Brandon), and Jessie Ralston (Kyle); 6 great grandchildren, and one great-great grandchild.
Per Ramona's wishes, there will be no public funeral services.
Her body was cremated, and her remains will be mixed with Bob's. Their ashes will be spread on the farm that was a central part of their lives.
Ramona was born on Sept. 7, 1924 at the farm home of her parents, Ira and Hannah (Blohm) Cox, near Earlham, Iowa. She was the youngest of five children. She and her siblings grew up on the farm, helping her parents as they coped with the Great Depression. She attended country schools and then Earlham High School, graduating in 1942.
After high school, she attended the American Institute of Business in Des Moines to learn accounting, and then took a job in Perry, Iowa, working as a bookkeeper.
In the waning days of World War II, she met a young farmer from the area, George Robert (Bob) Tuttle. The two soon fell in love. Unwilling to wait another year until Bob turned 21 and could marry without his parents' permission, they eloped to Nebraska, which was apparently more lax about such matters. They were married by a justice of the peace in Blair, Nebraska on Mar. 21, 1946.
They began their lives as a farm couple. Children soon followed and they became a farm family — Suzanne in 1947, Robert Michael (Mike) in 1949, and Gary in 1960. As the family expanded, so did their farming endeavors.
They started out working with Bob's parents near Perry, then moved to rented land near Dayton for a decade, and finally were able to buy their own farm near Elma, where they lived and worked for the remainder of their days. They built their lives around their family, the farm, their friends and neighbors, and the local Maple Leaf Lutheran church.
As the kids left the nest and the rigors of running a farm lessened, Ramona and Bob were hit with the travel bug. They embarked on a series of car vacations, eventually visiting 49 states, all of the Canadian provinces and much of Mexico. (They couldn't get the car to Hawaii easily, so they did like everyone else and just flew there.) Their wanderlust expanded, and they began to travel internationally. They took more than a dozen trips, often traveling with their friends. They visited more than 25 countries on six continents. Eventually, they ran out of places that interested them. (Or perhaps they were running out of energy.) They built a small house on the beach near Port St. Joe, Florida so that they could escape the Iowa cold. They spent many balmy winters there walking the beach and entertaining visiting friends and family. They later shifted their winter headquarters to a house in the foothills near Prescott Valley, Arizona, and spent several winters exploring that state. Eventually, maintaining two houses became a challenge for an aging couple, and they returned permanently to their Iowa home.
A firm believer that "idle hands are the devil's playthings", Ramona kept him at bay with many activities. For most of her life, she practiced fiber arts: crocheting, needlepoint, latch-hook, and quilting. If she was in a sitting position, she would almost certainly be working on a project. She finished hundreds of items over the years and kept her kids and grandkids well supplied with quilts and afghans. She was an enthusiastic collector of music boxes. (Or maybe it was an obsession.) She loved to read and devoured novels of all genres. She enjoyed growing flowers in her garden. She loved small dogs and had several tiny companions during her later years. She was always curious about new technology, whether to make work easier or just for fun. There were always new gadgets in the house. In her seventies, she bought a computer and connected it to the internet so that she could keep in touch with the family. And she loved to watch the Minnesota Vikings on TV — usually while crocheting an afghan.
Bob died in 2012. In the years since Ramona soldiered on through her grief and loneliness, bolstered by her kids and grandkids. Now, Ramona and Bob are back together, and the rest of us are left with memories of her long life.
She was a loyal daughter, loving partner, nurturing mother, doting grandmother, and entertaining friend. Her devotion to her family, love of learning, eagerness for adventure, and ironic sense of humor (which could sometimes be expressed with biting tongue) will continue to inspire us.
Ramona was preceded in death by her husband Bob, parents Ira and Hannah, siblings Marge, George, Christine (Teen), and Lawrence (Bus), and one grandson, Greg Holmstrom.
She is survived by her children: Suzanne Holmstrom, Mike Tuttle (Sherry), and Gary Tuttle (Sandy); nine grandchildren: Jeff Holmstrom (Sandy), Kara Holmstrom (Will), Sara Sires (Nathan), Kim Steege (Luke), Tracy Campbell (Chad), Shawn Tuttle, Ben Tuttle (Liza), Jackie Kester (Brandon), and Jessie Ralston (Kyle); 6 great grandchildren, and one great-great grandchild.
Per Ramona's wishes, there will be no public funeral services.
Her body was cremated, and her remains will be mixed with Bob's. Their ashes will be spread on the farm that was a central part of their lives.
Ramona Ann Tuttle, age 96, died on Wednesday, May 19, at Colonial Manor in Elma, Iowa.
Ramona was born on Sept. 7, 1924 at the farm home of her parents, Ira and Hannah (Blohm) Cox, near Earlham, Iowa. She was the youngest of five children. She and her siblings grew up on the farm, helping her parents as they coped with the Great Depression. She attended country schools and then Earlham High School, graduating in 1942.
After high school, she attended the American Institute of Business in Des Moines to learn accounting, and then took a job in Perry, Iowa, working as a bookkeeper.
In the waning days of World War II, she met a young farmer from the area, George Robert (Bob) Tuttle. The two soon fell in love. Unwilling to wait another year until Bob turned 21 and could marry without his parents' permission, they eloped to Nebraska, which was apparently more lax about such matters. They were married by a justice of the peace in Blair, Nebraska on Mar. 21, 1946.
They began their lives as a farm couple. Children soon followed and they became a farm family — Suzanne in 1947, Robert Michael (Mike) in 1949, and Gary in 1960. As the family expanded, so did their farming endeavors.
They started out working with Bob's parents near Perry, then moved to rented land near Dayton for a decade, and finally were able to buy their own farm near Elma, where they lived and worked for the remainder of their days. They built their lives around their family, the farm, their friends and neighbors, and the local Maple Leaf Lutheran church.
As the kids left the nest and the rigors of running a farm lessened, Ramona and Bob were hit with the travel bug. They embarked on a series of car vacations, eventually visiting 49 states, all of the Canadian provinces and much of Mexico. (They couldn't get the car to Hawaii easily, so they did like everyone else and just flew there.) Their wanderlust expanded, and they began to travel internationally. They took more than a dozen trips, often traveling with their friends. They visited more than 25 countries on six continents. Eventually, they ran out of places that interested them. (Or perhaps they were running out of energy.) They built a small house on the beach near Port St. Joe, Florida so that they could escape the Iowa cold. They spent many balmy winters there walking the beach and entertaining visiting friends and family. They later shifted their winter headquarters to a house in the foothills near Prescott Valley, Arizona, and spent several winters exploring that state. Eventually, maintaining two houses became a challenge for an aging couple, and they returned permanently to their Iowa home.
A firm believer that "idle hands are the devil's playthings", Ramona kept him at bay with many activities. For most of her life, she practiced fiber arts: crocheting, needlepoint, latch-hook, and quilting. If she was in a sitting position, she would almost certainly be working on a project. She finished hundreds of items over the years and kept her kids and grandkids well supplied with quilts and afghans. She was an enthusiastic collector of music boxes. (Or maybe it was an obsession.) She loved to read and devoured novels of all genres. She enjoyed growing flowers in her garden. She loved small dogs and had several tiny companions during her later years. She was always curious about new technology, whether to make work easier or just for fun. There were always new gadgets in the house. In her seventies, she bought a computer and connected it to the internet so that she could keep in touch with the family. And she loved to watch the Minnesota Vikings on TV — usually while crocheting an afghan.
Bob died in 2012. In the years since Ramona soldiered on through her grief and loneliness, bolstered by her kids and grandkids. Now, Ramona and Bob are back together, and the rest of us are left with memories of her long life.
She was a loyal daughter, loving partner, nurturing mother, doting grandmother, and entertaining friend. Her devotion to her family, love of learning, eagerness for adventure, and ironic sense of humor (which could sometimes be expressed with biting tongue) will continue to inspire us.
Ramona was preceded in death by her husband Bob, parents Ira and Hannah, siblings Marge, George, Christine (Teen), and Lawrence (Bus), and one grandson, Greg Holmstrom.
She is survived by her children: Suzanne Holmstrom, Mike Tuttle (Sherry), and Gary Tuttle (Sandy); nine grandchildren: Jeff Holmstrom (Sandy), Kara Holmstrom (Will), Sara Sires (Nathan), Kim Steege (Luke), Tracy Campbell (Chad), Shawn Tuttle, Ben Tuttle (Liza), Jackie Kester (Brandon), and Jessie Ralston (Kyle); 6 great grandchildren, and one great-great grandchild.
Per Ramona's wishes, there will be no public funeral services.
Her body was cremated, and her remains will be mixed with Bob's. Their ashes will be spread on the farm that was a central part of their lives.
Ramona was born on Sept. 7, 1924 at the farm home of her parents, Ira and Hannah (Blohm) Cox, near Earlham, Iowa. She was the youngest of five children. She and her siblings grew up on the farm, helping her parents as they coped with the Great Depression. She attended country schools and then Earlham High School, graduating in 1942.
After high school, she attended the American Institute of Business in Des Moines to learn accounting, and then took a job in Perry, Iowa, working as a bookkeeper.
In the waning days of World War II, she met a young farmer from the area, George Robert (Bob) Tuttle. The two soon fell in love. Unwilling to wait another year until Bob turned 21 and could marry without his parents' permission, they eloped to Nebraska, which was apparently more lax about such matters. They were married by a justice of the peace in Blair, Nebraska on Mar. 21, 1946.
They began their lives as a farm couple. Children soon followed and they became a farm family — Suzanne in 1947, Robert Michael (Mike) in 1949, and Gary in 1960. As the family expanded, so did their farming endeavors.
They started out working with Bob's parents near Perry, then moved to rented land near Dayton for a decade, and finally were able to buy their own farm near Elma, where they lived and worked for the remainder of their days. They built their lives around their family, the farm, their friends and neighbors, and the local Maple Leaf Lutheran church.
As the kids left the nest and the rigors of running a farm lessened, Ramona and Bob were hit with the travel bug. They embarked on a series of car vacations, eventually visiting 49 states, all of the Canadian provinces and much of Mexico. (They couldn't get the car to Hawaii easily, so they did like everyone else and just flew there.) Their wanderlust expanded, and they began to travel internationally. They took more than a dozen trips, often traveling with their friends. They visited more than 25 countries on six continents. Eventually, they ran out of places that interested them. (Or perhaps they were running out of energy.) They built a small house on the beach near Port St. Joe, Florida so that they could escape the Iowa cold. They spent many balmy winters there walking the beach and entertaining visiting friends and family. They later shifted their winter headquarters to a house in the foothills near Prescott Valley, Arizona, and spent several winters exploring that state. Eventually, maintaining two houses became a challenge for an aging couple, and they returned permanently to their Iowa home.
A firm believer that "idle hands are the devil's playthings", Ramona kept him at bay with many activities. For most of her life, she practiced fiber arts: crocheting, needlepoint, latch-hook, and quilting. If she was in a sitting position, she would almost certainly be working on a project. She finished hundreds of items over the years and kept her kids and grandkids well supplied with quilts and afghans. She was an enthusiastic collector of music boxes. (Or maybe it was an obsession.) She loved to read and devoured novels of all genres. She enjoyed growing flowers in her garden. She loved small dogs and had several tiny companions during her later years. She was always curious about new technology, whether to make work easier or just for fun. There were always new gadgets in the house. In her seventies, she bought a computer and connected it to the internet so that she could keep in touch with the family. And she loved to watch the Minnesota Vikings on TV — usually while crocheting an afghan.
Bob died in 2012. In the years since Ramona soldiered on through her grief and loneliness, bolstered by her kids and grandkids. Now, Ramona and Bob are back together, and the rest of us are left with memories of her long life.
She was a loyal daughter, loving partner, nurturing mother, doting grandmother, and entertaining friend. Her devotion to her family, love of learning, eagerness for adventure, and ironic sense of humor (which could sometimes be expressed with biting tongue) will continue to inspire us.
Ramona was preceded in death by her husband Bob, parents Ira and Hannah, siblings Marge, George, Christine (Teen), and Lawrence (Bus), and one grandson, Greg Holmstrom.
She is survived by her children: Suzanne Holmstrom, Mike Tuttle (Sherry), and Gary Tuttle (Sandy); nine grandchildren: Jeff Holmstrom (Sandy), Kara Holmstrom (Will), Sara Sires (Nathan), Kim Steege (Luke), Tracy Campbell (Chad), Shawn Tuttle, Ben Tuttle (Liza), Jackie Kester (Brandon), and Jessie Ralston (Kyle); 6 great grandchildren, and one great-great grandchild.
Per Ramona's wishes, there will be no public funeral services.
Her body was cremated, and her remains will be mixed with Bob's. Their ashes will be spread on the farm that was a central part of their lives.
Gravesite Details
Her body was cremated, and her remains will be mixed with Bob's. Their ashes will be spread on the farm that was a central part of their lives.
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