Margaret Schwickerath

Margaret A. Schwickerath age 93 of New Hampton, IA, died Monday, September 28, 2020, at Linn Haven Rehab and Healthcare in New Hampton. A Private Family Mass of Christian Burial will be held 10:30 a.m. Thursday, October 1, 2020, at St. Boniface Catholic Church in Ionia with burial in the church cemetery. Please join the family on the Hugeback Johnson Facebook Page Thursday at 10:30 to watch live. Margaret Anna Schwickerath was born March 9, 1927, in rural Chickasaw County, IA, the daughter of Nick and Mary (Ruhoff) Gebel. She received her education at the former St. Mary’s School in North Washington. At the same church, she met her future husband, Edward J. Schwickerath and the couple were united in marriage on January 21, 1948, at St. Joseph Catholic Church in New Hampton. They were blessed with eight children. Margaret and Ed initially lived on a farm south of Ionia, and in 1949, the couple purchased the Gebel family farm from Margaret’s parents. After years of hard work farming and raising their family the couple built their current home north of Ionia in 1973. Following Ed’s death in 1997, Margaret stayed on their home place until just before her passing. In her free time she enjoyed playing Rummikub and bird-watching. Survivors include four sons, Roger (Beverly) Schwickerath of New Hampton, Dale (Nancy) Schwickerath of Newton, Gerard Schwickerath of Cedar Rapids, Andy (Lisa) Schwickerath of North Washington; two daughters, Mary (Robert) Drenth of Nora Springs, Grace Schwickerath of New Hampton; son-in-law, Steven Trettin of Mason City; nineteen grandchildren, numerous great-grandchildren; one sister, Josephine Flick of Waterloo. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Ed in 1997; two daughters, Theresa Schwickerath in 1971 and Alice Trettin in 2015.