Services will be held Dec. 28 at St Joseph Catholic Church in Jefferson for Madeline Kathryn Burnell, 95, of Jefferson.
Father John Gerald will be celebrant. Cantor will be Amy Roberts, accompanied by Janet Sabus. Honorary bearers will be Stephen Molle, Willard Hostetler and Jay Batchelor.
Casket bearers will be Luke Garvin, Richard Daugherty, Patrick Daugherty, Christopher Daugherty, Isaiah Losee, Alex Kelso and Colton Day. Interment will be at St Joseph Catholic Cemetery.
Madeline K. Burnell was born on December 5, 1926, in Adair, daughter of the late Leo and Anna (Ward) Hickey. Madeline went to country school in Casey for her early years. She later graduated from Bayard High School in 1944, where her parents had moved to rent farmland. Upon completion of her studies at the American Institution of Business in Des Moines she landed a job at Garst Seed Company in Coon Rapids. Madeline married Robert Burnell at Bayard’s St. Patrick Catholic Church on Nov. 28, 1945, making this year their 76th wedding anniversary. Madeline and Robert worked together farming and raising their family on their farm in Paton. Raised on a farm herself, Madeline understood the hard work that it took in helping with the day-to-day farm operation. They moved to Jefferson in 1979.
Madeline spent her life as a homemaker, devoted wife, loving mother, and grandmother. Her hands were always busy. She loved being creative, whether it was trying out a new recipe, learning a new craft, helping with a complicated sewing project, or trying out a new move to the fox trot with Bob on the dance floor. She was a great cook and enjoyed a good cup of coffee accompanied by friends and a piece of pie. She was an active member of both St. John Catholic Church in Paton and St. Joseph Catholic women’s guild of Jefferson. Also, she was a Does sister of Jefferson Elks Lodge #2306. Madeline cherished her longtime friendships with the member of Stitch & Chat Club of Paton and the Culture Club of Jefferson.
She is survived by her beloved husband, Robert Lewis Burnell (age 96); children Richard L. Burnell and his wife Judy of Paton, and Lucinda B. Garvin and her husband John of Cheshire, CT; and her sister Veronica Wagner and her husband Howard of Rochester, MN. Madeline was blessed with six grandchildren – Christie Burnell and Sarah Losee of Paton, Erin Kelson of Westminister, CO, Amy Boland of Fairfield, CT, Luke Garvin of Littleton, CO, and Rita Brandborg of Missoula, MT; and 14 great-grandchildren.
Madeline was predeceased by her parents Leo and Anna Hickey; children Patricia Joleen and Ronald ‘Busby’ Burnell and his wife Candace of Des Moines; and her twin sister Marjorie Garrity and husband Mike of Cary, NC.
We love you and will dearly miss you.
The family is assisted by Slininger-Schroeder Funeral Home of Jefferson.
