Michael Alan Gilchrist, 64 of Keosauqua, IA passed away at 9:09 AM Sunday January 23, 2022 at Van Buren County Hospital in Keosauqua.  In accordance with his wishes his body will be cremated.  There will be a graveside service held at Zion Lutheran Cemetery west of Keosauqua at 11:00 AM on Monday May 16, 2022.  Memorials to Keosauqua Health Care Center or Center Village may be mailed to the family at 6 Country Club Place, Ottumwa, IA 52501.  Friends and family may leave online condolences at www.cranstonfamilyfuneralhome.com.

Michael was born on May 16, 1957 in Fairfield to Clayton Wallace and Virginia L. Smith Gilchrist.  He spent his early years in Douds and attended Van Buren Community Schools.  Nearly all his adult life was spent in Keosauqua living at Center Village.  Michael moved from Center Village to Keosauqua Healthcare Center five years ago where he made many friends.

He loved attending the Fall Festival in Keosauqua and the motorcycle parade during the Stateline Rally. He once got the chance to ride in the parade while he was at Center Village. Michael was also a life-long fan of WWE.

Left to cherish his memory are his mother, Virginia Falkner (Bill) of Ottumwa, a sister, Diana Clay (David) of Scottsdale, AZ, a nephew, Josh Clay of Cornville, AZ, a niece, Jamie Tinkle (Josh) of Flagstaff, AZ and three great nieces all of Flagstaff, AZ and many aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends.  He was preceded in death by his father, Clayton W. Gilchrist.

Mary Lee (Kempf) Van Egdon, 76, of Mt. Pleasant passed away on Monday, January 24, 2022, at the Southeast Iowa Regional Hospice House in West Burlington.

Memorial Services will be held on Saturday, January 29, 2022, at 10:30 a.m. at the Swedesburg Lutheran Church with Pastor Mark Youngquist officiating.  The family will receive friends from 9:30 until service time at the church.  Burial will be in the Hillcrest Cemetery at Brighton.  Memorials may be directed to the Swedesburg Lutheran Church or to the Wayland Fire and Rescue in her memory.

Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.murphyfuneralandmonuments.com

Murphy Funeral Home of Mt. Pleasant is caring for her arrangements.

Centenarian Kenneth McChesney died on Monday, January 24 at the Great River Medical

Center in Burlington, Iowa. The youngest of Lee and Florence Mallory McChesney’s 11 children,

Kenny was born at home on October 21,1921. After graduating from Wapello High School in

1940, Kenny married his beloved bride, Betty Cutkomp, on December 25,1941, at the Wapello

Presbyterian Manse. Kenny and Betty were blessed with a son, Thomas Michael, a daughter,

Sandra Kay (son-in-law, Steve Ehrhardt), five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. In

his later years, Kenny loved recounting to his grandchildren and great-grandchildren how he’d

had his eye on Betty since the 4th grade. Married for 80 years, Kenny’s and Betty’s love for

each other was apparent to all who knew them.

Though Kenny was far too humble to accept the label, he embodied what Tom Brokaw

described as “The Greatest Generation.” A WWII Veteran, Kenny served as a staff sergeant in

the U.S. Army from 1942-1945, and was stationed in the Southwest Pacific with the G-2 section

of the 6th Army Headquarters, where he received a Bronze Star Medal for going above and

beyond the call of duty. Known for his work ethic and integrity, Kenny was the owner of

McChesney Produce for 24 years, a clerk and assistant manager of the Farmers Elevator &

Exchange for 24 years, and sold Pioneer Seed Corn for 24 years.

A man of deep Christian faith, Kenny was one of the Wapello Presbyterian Church’s longest

members, joining in 1939. In his 82-year membership there, he served as a Sunday School

teacher and superintendent, Elder, Clerk of the Session, and Usher.

Proud of being a lifelong Wapello resident, Kenny was always active in the community. He

served on the Wapello School Board, as Treasurer of the Wapello Kiwanis, on the Louisa

County Historical Society’s board, and was a VFW member.

For those who knew him, Kenny didn’t seem to age until he was well into his 90s. He could be

spotted shoveling snow from his rooftop or cleaning out his gutter, with Betty holding the ladder

down below for him, as recently as a few years ago. Kenny and Betty were blessed to live in

their own home for their entire life together, and once they’d stopped traveling, you could find

them at home in the evenings, eating popcorn, playing dominoes or Rummikub, and cheering

on the Iowa Hawkeyes basketball team.

Kenny was preceded in death by his parents, seven brothers (Harold, Raymond [Jack], Rex [Big

Speck], George [Boni], Carl [Sucker], Robert [died in infancy], and Ralph [Little Speck], three

sisters (Helen Ryner, Mildred [Sis] Milligan, and one who died in infancy), his son Tom and

grandson Chris.

A memorial service will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to either

the First Presbyterian Church of Wapello or the Louisa County Historical Society Museum.

Cynthia “Cindy” Dorrell has passed on January 23, 2022. She will be sorely missed.

Cindy was born on November 1st, 1952, in Chamois Missouri, the daughter of Urban and Edna Rost. She graduated from Chamois High School and Central Missouri State University with a degree in music.

Cindy married Bill Dorrell on June 30, 1979, in Morrison Missouri. The couple has made Mount Pleasant their home since 1980. To know Cindy was to know love and kindness. Cindy was an incredible wife and mother, a fierce friend and a steadfast woman of God. She loved collecting baskets, finding treasures at yard sales, baking her famous sour dough bread, knitting, snuggling her cats, reading the Bible, and uncovering secrets of the Underground Railroad in Southeast Iowa.

Cindy was a paraeducator in the special education program at the Mt Pleasant Middle School. If you had met her, even just once, you would know this because she would be sure to mention it, saying “I can handle anything! I work at a middle school!” She touched everyone she met, whether you’d known her for years or met her 5 minutes ago in line at the grocery store. Cindy could be said to have “never met a stranger” and loved to laugh and make people smile.

She became involved Hand All Around, the at-risk program in Winfield. She was a member of the Southeast Iowa Symphony Orchestra and Explore Post 1846.

Music and faith defined every aspect of Cindy’s life. She was the band director at Winfield, the leader the First Baptist Church praise team, and she played flute and piccolo in the Southeast Iowa Symphony Orchestra. At Old Threshers, in the Log Village, she could be found every year hammering away on her handmade hammer dulcimer, or in church, at weddings, or just in her back porch on warm summer nights. When she wasn’t sharing her gift of music, she was busy feeding, helping, educating and loving people.

Cindy was preceded in death by her parents. She is survived by her husband Bill; one son Joe Dorrell of Fort Madison; two daughters, Marie Dorrell of Mount Pleasant, SC, Anne Dorrell of St. Paul, MN; two brothers, Keith Rost of Richmond, KY, John Rost of Broken Arrow, OK; and a sister Myra Belser of Laramie, WY.

Funeral service will be held 11:00 am, Saturday, January 29, 2022, at the Mount Pleasant Middle School. The service will be livestreamed at Powell Funeral Homes Facebook page and at www.powellfuneralhomes.com. Visitation will be held 10:00 am – 7:00 pm, Friday, January 28, 2022, at Olson-Powell Memorial Chapel, where family will greet friends from 3:00 – 5:00 pm. A general memorial fund has been established.