Seiko Retherford

Seiko "Susie" Retherford, 88 of Mt. Pleasant, IA, died Wednesday, December 26, 2012, at the Pleasant Manor Care Center. An open visitation will be held on Friday, December 28, 2012, from 12 noon to 7 p.m. at the Olson-Powell Memorial Chapel. A funeral service will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 29th at the Calvary Baptist Church with Pastor Mike Hess officiating. Interment will be at Fell Cemetery, Libertyville, Iowa. In lieu of flowers, a memorial has been established to Calvary Baptist Church. The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Kinsaku Kato, Susie was born on March 25, 1924, in Kanagawa-ken, Japan. She graduated from high school in Zama Honshu, Japan. On January 26, 1951, she married William Andrew Retherford in Yokohama, Japan. He preceded her in death on May 20, 1976. During WWII, Susie worked at the Mitsubishi Plant in Japan. After moving to the United States, she worked at Universal Seamstress in Fairfield, and the Iowa Army Ammunitions Plant in Middletown. She retired from Heatilator in 1984 after working as a production worker for 17 years. Susie was a member of the Calvary Baptist Church and the VFW Auxiliary. She loved to travel and went many places visiting friends and family. An excellent seamstress, Susie also enjoyed bowling. Survivors include a son, Robert Retherford in Red Wing, MN; two daughters, June (Gene) Schutte in Mt. Pleasant, IA, and Judy Brown in New Jersey; and two sisters. Along with her husband, Susie is preceded in death by her parents; three brothers; and two sisters.