Erneva Kathryn Seifert Eggimann passed away July 1, 2024, at the Mill Pond Care Center in Ankeny, after having celebrated her 100th birthday in style four months previously.
Neva was born February 18, 1924, and grew up in Elkader, where she met her future husband, Elmer Eggimann, in her kindergarten class. Her curiosity and her lifelong interest in learning new things were apparent even as a young woman, when in 1942 she and a friend decided to leave Iowa for California to look for jobs. She immediately found work in a plant manufacturing goods for the war effort.
Before Elmer shipped out with the Marines to the war in the Pacific they got engaged. Neva, ever practical, realized that she would need to support herself in case Elmer didn’t return, so she embarked on another adventure: nursing training through the Cadet Nurses Program at the Hospital of the Good Samaritan in Los Angeles. For two years she traveled back and forth between Los Angeles for training and Iowa to visit family, and after she and Elmer were married in 1945, she went back to California to complete the final year of her training.
Further adventures took Elmer and Neva to married student housing at Iowa State University; then a brief time living at the Eggimann family farm; then to Newton, where Elmer worked as the county Extension agent and Neva worked occasional shifts at the hospital; and finally to Jefferson in 1952, where Neva would raise her family and be an important part of the community for the next 70 years.
Her life in Jefferson was remarkable for her commitment to family, community, faith, and friends. She was ever-present in the stands at son Steve’s sports events and in the audience for daughter Kathy’s musical concerts. She enthusiastically led family camping expeditions to far-flung national parks, as well as state and community parks. Her interest and involvement continued into her grandchildren’s lives, as she cheered them on in all their activities and made her home a welcoming place for them, where she was always eager to hear about happenings in their lives (and to provide the always-available brownies from the Folgers can in the basement).
She was an active participant in PEO and other service clubs, as well as the Greene County Hospital Auxiliary. She was a stay-at-home mom while Steve and Kathy were younger, and joined them at school for three years as Jefferson’s school nurse. Later she worked in public health doing family planning outreach.
Neva was a faithful 71-year member of the First Presbyterian Church in Jefferson, serving in many capacities and on many committees. She and Elmer participated in several memorable mission trips, and she enjoyed serving as church secretary when they were empty nesters. She lived her faith fully by being a true and concerned friend to many, by always welcoming newcomers to town and to the church, and by her lifelong interest in people of all backgrounds and all faiths.
On the occasion of her 100th birthday, Neva received 135 birthday cards, and the recurrent theme expressed was that she knew how to be a supportive and dependable friend, and was therefore beloved by so many.
Neva was preceded in death by her husband Elmer; her sister Dorothy; and her great-granddaughter Mary Alice Hathaway.
She is survived by her sister Bernadine; her children Steven (Dianne) and Kathy Lane (Tom), and Cathrin (“Katie”) Martin (Bob), who has been a part of the Eggimann family since her AFS year with them in 1968-69; grandchildren Mark Lane (Carla), Kelly Lane, and Darcy Hathaway (Kevin); and great-grandchildren Savannah Lane, Will Lane, Calhoun Lane, Maggie Hathaway, and Sally Hathaway.
Memorials are suggested to the First Presbyterian Church or to Greene County Congregate Meals.
A memorial service for Neva will be at 11:00 am on Monday, July 15, at the First Presbyterian Church in Jefferson. A private family burial will take place at Jefferson Cemetery, Jefferson. Memorials are suggested to the First Presbyterian Church or to Greene County Congregate Meals.
The family is assisted by Slininger-Schroeder Funeral Home of Jefferson.
