Mary Ellen (Rippon) Culton

Mary Ellen Culton, 90, of Strawberry Point, Iowa, passed away on Saturday, October 7, 2017, at the Strawberry Point Lutheran Home in Strawberry Point. She was born on June 25, 1927, in Ryan, the daughter of Bert and Elsie (Taylor) Rippon. Mary graduated from Dundee High School in 1945.

On June 8, 1945, Mary married Lavon Eugene Trumblee. Two sons, Lonnie and Steven, were born to this union. The couple later divorced.

Mary and her sister Hazel were very close and she loved Hazel’s children as if they were her own.  During the years her sons were growing up, Mary was a homemaker and also a cook at the Iowa School for the Deaf in Council Bluffs.  After her youngest son graduated from high school, Mary went back to school, enrolling at Iowa Western and Dana College, and obtained a teaching degree.  She taught at Glenwood State School in Glenwood, until the time of her retirement.  After retiring she bought a second home in Manchester.   Mary divided her time between Council Bluffs, Manchester, and a cabin in Farmersburg.

Mary enjoyed reading and had an extensive library.  She loved to crochet and made afghans for all of her kids and grandkids.  She enjoyed collecting glassware and had a large teapot collection. Mary liked to travel and enjoyed many summer trips to the Nebraska Sand Hills to visit her sister, Hazel, and enjoyed the many winters she spent in Florida.

Survivors include her two sons, Steve (Maycale) Trumblee and Lonnie Trumblee, all of Farmersburg; two grandsons, David (Kristie) Trumblee and Daniel (Angie) Trumblee; and three great-granddaughters, Lacy, Rylan, and Emerson.

Mary was preceded in death by her parents and her sister, Hazel Trumblee.

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