Linnea Decker Manlove

Linnea R. Decker Manlove, 89, of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, died Saturday, April 21, 2007, at the Park Place Long Term Care Unit. Visitation will begin after 12:00 noon on Tuesday, April 24, 2007, at the Olson - Powell Memorial Chapel, where the family will receive friends from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. that evening. Funeral services will be held Wednesday, April 25, at 2:00 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church with the Rev. Dr. Jerry Kelly officiating. Burial will be in the Forest Home Cemetery. Memorials have been established to Hospice of Central Iowa or to the First Presbyterian Church. Born June 7, 1917, in Mediapolis, Iowa, Linnea Ruth was the daughter of Francis and Gerda Christine Saunders Johnson. As a youth, she was confirmed at the Messiah Lutheran Church in Burlington. She graduated from Burlington High School in 1936. She moved to Mt. Pleasant in 1941, where she has been a resident ever since. On August 21, 1941, she married Lester E. Decker in Kahoka, Missouri. He preceded her in death on December 29, 1969. On July 18, 1974, she married Robert H. Manlove in Mt. Pleasant. He preceded her in death on March 12, 1978. Prior to her marriage, Linnea worked for the Mt. Pleasant Lumber Company as a bookkeeper for three years. After she raised her family, she began a twenty-one year career as the office manager and bookkeeper for the J. C. Penney Company. She was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Mt. Pleasant since 1946. Other memberships included the J. S. Club, the Harlan Questers, the V.F. W. Auxiliary, and the Henry County Health Center Auxiliary. She was also a former member of the Order of Eastern Star. She also loved sewing, and was an avid bowler and participated in several state and national bowling tournaments. Linnea was an avid Cubs and Iowa Hawkeyes Basketball fan. Her greatest love was spending time with her family. Linnea is survived by her two daughters, Linda (John) Phillips of Burlington and Lana Hoffman of Mt. Pleasant; two step-daughters, Barbara Manlove of Bettendorf, and Sharyn Manlove of Hawaii; a sister, Margaret Schupick of Burlington; and a brother, Dale Johnson of Danville. Also surviving are eight grandchildren, Lesa (Kent) Muntz, R. Doak Anderson, Robert James, Michelle James, Jeffrey Phillips, Melissa Phillips, Andrea Hoffman, and Meredith Hoffman, along with three great-grandchildren, Kristopher and Mason Muntz and Jennifer Clark. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husbands Lester Decker and Robert Manlove; a son Lynn Decker; a granddaughter LuAnn Clark; a brother, Lloyd Johnson; and two sons-in-law Ronald Anderson and Dennis Trabert.