Lila Mae Streeter was born July 21, 1933, at the family home near Sumner and Hawkeye, Iowa, the daughter of George and Evelyn (Messerer) Kohlmeyer. She graduated from Randalia High School in 1951.
In a double ring ceremony Lila Mae married Delbert “Dick” Streeter on January 27, 1952 at the First United Methodist Church in Fayette, Iowa. While Dick was serving 18 months in the Korean War, Lila Mae worked at Mercy Hospital in Oelwein, Iowa. Upon Dick’s return from the service they farmed in the rural Fayette area until 1976.
Lila Mae began working at Upper Iowa University in 1962 until her retirement in 1995. Her valued roles included secretary for the president of the University and Supervisor of Payroll and Student Employment.
Lila Mae was a faithful member of the First United Methodist Church in Fayette for over fifty years. She served as church auditor for twenty-five years and also participated in numerous other committees. She has been a member of the local PEO Chapter FG since 1982. She served as president from 1990 to 1992 along with many other offices. Through the years her hobbies and interests included bird watching, fishing, camping, bowling, golf, going to BINGO, knitting and crocheting, collecting an elaborate array of peacock pins, but her true passion was playing cards.
After a long battle with cancer she died peacefully in her home while surrounded by family on Wednesday, September 16, 2009. She was seventy-six years old.
Lila Mae is survived by two daughters, Jean Anne (Rod) VanGenderen of West Des Moines and Becky (Jim) Duck of Grenada, Mississippi; nine grandchildren; thirteen great grandchildren; her sister-in-law, Wilma Kohlmeyer of Fredericksburg; and several nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Dick Streeter; her parents; her brother, Marvin Kohlmeyer; and a sister, Kathleen Kubik.
Funeral Services for Lila Mae will be held at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, September 19, 2009, at the First United Methodist Church of Fayette. Rev. Jason Princer will be the officiant. Friends may call from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Friday, September 18, 2009, at Becker-Milnes Funeral Home in Fayette and for one hour preceding services at the church on Saturday. Burial will be at Grandview Cemetery in Fayette. Memorials may be made to the First United Methodist Church in Fayette, the Heart of Iowa Hospice, or to Upper Iowa University.
