Loretta Downes

Loretta Downes, 100, of Davenport, Iowa and formerly of Fredericksburg, Iowa passed away Good Friday, April 19, 2019, at Clarissa C Cook Hospice House in Bettendorf, Iowa. Funeral services will be Tuesday, April 23, 2019 at 11:00 am at St Paul Lutheran Church in Fredericksburg. Visitation will be an hour before services at the church. Burial will be in New Hampton City Cemetery. Loretta Dorothy Weitenhagen, daughter of Frank and Marie (Kammeyer) Weitenhagen was born July 24, 1918 at Fredericksburg, Iowa. She was baptized and confirmed by Otto C Durr at St Paul’s Lutheran Church in Fredericksburg, of which she was a lifetime member. After graduation from Fredericksburg High School in 1935, she attended Iowa State Teacher’s College (now UNI) at Cedar Falls. Upon graduation she taught in the Chickasaw Rural Schools at Boyd. On July 24, 1938, she married Leonard Downes at St Paul’s Lutheran Church in Fredericksburg. They farmed near Fredericksburg. In 1960 they started going to McAllen, Texas for the winters. There she worked for Sears for 12 years. Leonard passed away July 14, 1979. In 1980 she made her home in Fredericksburg, continuing to go to McAllen for the winters. In 2010 she moved to Davenport to be closer to her daughters. Survivors include one son, Robert and wife, Karen, of Sun City West, Arizona, two daughters, Lorely (Lori) and husband, Ron Van Sant of Davenport, Iowa and Debra and husband, Jerry Van Sant of Le Claire, Iowa; 6 grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren, one great-great grandchild and two nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, her brother, Harold Weitenhagen, a granddaughter, Stephanie Downes, and a son-in-law, Monty Roberts. Memorials may be made to St. Paul Lutheran Church.