Obituary of Viola M. Bradshaw

Viola M. Bradshaw, age 93 of Williamsburg, formerly of North Liberty died Wednesday, December 17, 2003 at Mercy Hospital in Iowa City. Funeral services will be held at 1:00 p.m., Saturday, December 20, 2003, at Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service in Iowa City with the Reverend Alecia Williams officiating. Burial will be at the Porter Cemetery in rural Keokuk County, Iowa. Visitation will be after 12 noon on Saturday until services at the funeral home. A memorial fund has been established in Viola’s memory. Viola M. Waggoner Bradshaw was born October 22, 1910, in Washington County, Iowa the daughter of Andrew and Elsie (Singleton) Waggoner. She married Leo Johnson October 21, 1938 in Brighton, Iowa. He died in 1947. She later married Loyd Bradshaw on August 14, 1953, in Washington, Iowa. She cared for her family on the farm, worked at the Button Factory in Washington, Iowa for a number of years, and later at the Oakdale Hospital in Oakdale. She was a former member of the First Baptist Church in Washington, member of the Carnation Rebekah Lodge in Washington, former member of the Epiphian Sisters in Williamsburg, and member of the First United Methodist Church in North Liberty. Her family includes a son and his wife, Leo and Mary Johnson of Parnell; daughters, Lila and her husband, Daryle McCallister of Williamsburg, Donna and her husband, William McCallister of Marengo, Eva Riley of Auburn, Washington, and Betty Barger of Grandview, Iowa; 23 grandchildren, 44 great-grandchildren, and 23 great-great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, husbands, 3 great-grandchildren, and 1 great-great-grandchild Viola was one who touched many lives in her years, sharing her love of life through her sense of humor, her love of family and friends, especially fond of little children. She always had the farm in her heart, enjoying gardening and flowers wherever she lived. Many regarded Viola as their mentor, one who was loved and admired by many.