Obituary of Marlene K. Ciha

Marlene Kathryn “Kay” Ciha of Kalona, passed away on Tuesday, December 20th at the age of 71 after a courageous battle with cancer. A time of visitation for family and friend will be from 12 noon until 2pm on Friday, December 23, 2016, at Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service in Iowa City where at 2pm there will be a service of memories and stories shared. Burial will follow at the Oakland Cemetery in Solon, Iowa. In lieu of flowers memorial donations can be made in Kay’s memory to Washington County Hospice or a memorial fund that has been established. Online condolences can be sent for her family through the funeral home website @ www.gayandciha.com. Kay was born on March 14, 1945 to Joe and Mary White in Indianola, Iowa. Her father Joe worked as an electrician for Indianola Power and Light when Kay was born. Then in 1952 he moved his family to Iowa City to start a new job with Great Lakes Pipeline in Coralville. Kay attended public schools through Junior High, and then attended Regina High School graduating in 1963. After graduation, Kay started working for University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in the X-Ray Department, leaving in 1969. Kay went on to start her long career at Moore Business Forms, now known as RR Donnelley in Iowa City. She retired in 2002 after 33 years. In 1966 Kay married Dave Nealson and had two daughters, Tami in 1967 and Jodi in 1969. They divorced in 1973. Kay later married Dave Ciha on June 22, 1974 at the Little Brown Church in Nashua. They bought the first family home in Hills in 1978. In the near 40 years of marriage Kay and Dave shared so much of their lives together. One of the many hobbies was raising and showing rabbits all over the U.S. This started as a 4-H project for Tami and Jodi and it lasted over 20 years. Dave and Kay served as the Rabbit Department Superintendents for the Johnson County Fair for over 10 years. In 1992 Dave and Kay, along with Dave’s dad Wes started building the new home south of Kalona. This beautiful house has been the gathering place for family functions, class reunions, garden parties and political meetings. Both Dave and Kay were big into installing the values of hard work, family values, caring for mother nature, whether it was the birds, turkeys, deer, or waterways, this Mother Earth is all we have! And this could be seen with the amount of plants that Kay had planted around their home. With her green thumb, Kay decided to get her Master Gardner License in 2012. She enjoyed the time tending to her many flower gardens around the house. She always said there was nothing better than the smell of dirt. Kay was a big supporter for the Democratic Party both on the local, state and national level having held positions on the Washington County Democrats. But she always made you laugh, as she had to explain that she had friends who were Republican’s too. Kay thoroughly enjoyed attending her grandchildren and great-grandchildren events. She was always a great supporter and sideline cheerer. Her family includes children, Tami Stellmach (John), and Jodi Nealson (Jason Helle), Dan Ciha (Colette Soults), and Bill Ciha (Wendy Rasmussen); 13 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren; sister, Janet Edmonds of Iowa City and brother, James White of North Liberty. She was preceded in death by her parents, and her husband, David “Love.” “Sometimes we forget to live while we’re trying not to die” ~ unknown