Bessie Cagle

Bessie Valeria Kivett Cagle, 86, a resident of Bettendorf, Iowa died Friday, April 11, 2014 at her home.

There will be no services held at this time. The family suggests memorials to Clarissa C. Cook Hospice House, Bettendorf, in lieu of flowers. McGinnis-Chambers Funeral Home in Bettendorf is assisting the family with arrangements.

Valeria was born on September 30, 1927, the youngest of six children of Marvin and Bertha Kivett. She died peacefully on April 11, 2014, in Bettendorf, Iowa.  She grew up in High Point, North Carolina, and began college at High Point College, where she was an accomplished violinist and concert mistress of her college orchestra.

In the late 1940s, she married Wayne Cagle and together they raised a family of four children, all of whom survive her: Wayne (Perri) Cagle, Jr., Lynne (Larry) Zotzmann, Debbie (Terry) Crouch, and Mark Cagle.

After graduation from Central Missouri State University in the early 1970s, she began a distinguished teaching career at Robinson Elementary School in Raytown, Missouri.  She taught for over a decade and was a recipient of the Kansas City Star ’s Excellence in Education Award.

In addition to her children, she is survived by her brother Marvin Kivett, Jr., four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. She was a beloved sister, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.