Ila Misbach Morse Smith

Ila Misbach Morse Smith
October 07, 1907 - August 24, 2005
Iowa City, Iowa
Ila Leota Misbach Morse Smith died peacefully at home in Iowa City on August 24, 2005 at the age of 97. Memorial services will be held at 2:00 at the Genoa Bluffs cemetery in Iowa County on September 11. Family and friends may also gather from 3:00 to 5:00 at the Trinity United Church of Christ, 1895 200th Street, rural Marengo. In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested for the Iowa County 4-H Foundation, Lake Iowa Nature Center or Pathways Adult Day Health Center. Ila was born October 7, 1907 in Sumner Township, Iowa County, the daughter of Jesse Davis and Emelia Wiese Misbach, the third of seven children. She attended grades 1-8 at East Sumner #5 rural school, and graduated from Williamsburg High School in 1925 with highest honors. She taught rural school in Iowa County (North Pilot) after high school and graduated from Iowa State College, Ames in 1932 with a major in Household Equipment. She taught and coached basketball at Bagley High School, and later worked at the H. Hubbard Ice and Fuel Company for several years. In 1937, she married Henry George Morse and moved to the Morse farm in Pilot and Sumner townships. The farm has been in the Morse family continually since 1856. After Henry's death in 1954, Ila managed the farm with the help of exceptional farm operators and their families: John and Lucy Stevenson, and Leo Rudolphi and Faye Gehrig. Fred and Melva Doty, Denver and Betty Leeper, Jim and Mary Lee Kobs, Dale and Betty Finley, and Kent and Maria Koschmeder have also lived on the farm with their families. In 1975, she married Harold M. Smith of Marengo. They lived on the Morse farm many years, moving to Atrium Village in Hills in December 1990, where Harold died in 1994. In 2001, Ila moved to Iowa City to live with her daughter Shami (Lucena) and her family. Ila was a strong supporter of conservation and rural life. She was the charter leader of the Pilot Pals 4-H club and served in that role for almost 25 years. She was also active in Farm Bureau. In 1991, Morse Farms was awarded the state-wide "Conservation Promotion Award" for the best use of conservation methods on a professionally-managed farm. Gary McCool of Hertz Farm Management also accepted the award, along with Leo Rudolphi and Faye Gehrig. In 1985, she began the restoration of a two-acre prairie on the Morse farm. The family appreciates Maria Koschmeder's ongoing care of the prairie. Survivors include 2 daughters: Alice Morse Atkinson and husband Kendall of Iowa City, with two children, Beth Atkinson of Rochester, Minnesota and Kathryn Atkinson of Iowa City; and Shami (Lucena) Morse of Iowa City with three children, Shobha, Matthew and Rebecca Kazinka. Her son Daniel Morse and wife Joanie live in Livermore, California and have three children: Jason Morse and wife Lisa of New Jersey; Brian Van Hook and wife Gina of California with children Colby and Katie; Cindy Van Hook and husband Jeff Anthony of California with son Jesel. Two daughters, Carolyn and Elizabeth, died in childhood. Surviving sisters include Mildred Posey of Hills, Iowa and Shirley Buswell of Marengo, Iowa. Two brothers, Wiese and Myron, and two sisters, Wanda and Dorothy, passed away earlier. She will also be missed by many nieces and nephews, as well as Harold's children, Jim Smith of Bettendorf and Neola Cashatt of Council Bluffs.