Margaret Deshon

Margaret M. DeShon, 100, of Bettendorf, Iowa, died peacefully on December 9, 2013, at The Kahl Home in Davenport, after a short illness.

Services will be at 11:00 A.M. Saturday, December 14, 2013 at Asbury United Methodist Church in Bettendorf. Visitation will be from 4:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. on Friday at McGinnis- Chambers Funeral Home in Bettendorf and from 10:00 A.M. to 11:00 A.M. on Saturday at the church.  She will be laid to rest beside her beloved husband at Davenport Memorial Park.

Margaret was born March 15, 1913, the daughter of Matill and Donald Arnold in Cleveland, Ohio.  After frequent moves, the family settled in Brookfield, Illinois, where she graduated from high school. She went on to graduate from MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Illinois with a two year degree in education. She taught in Brookfield several years before marrying Ralph F. DeShon Sr. on June 11, 1938 at the Brookfield Methodist Church. They settled in Davenport, Iowa and together they built a home in Bettendorf where she lived for 58 years.  For the past seven years Margaret lived at The Fountains Assisted Living in Bettendorf until declining health caused her final move to the Kahl Home.

She received her BA in education from Marycrest College, Davenport, and taught school at Mark Twain School Elementary School in Bettendorf, for 20 years; retiring in 1978.

Margaret and Ralph were charter members of Asbury United Methodist Church in Bettendorf when it was founded in 1950 and she continued to be very active there until her early nineties. Other than her strong church  involvement, her many activities included the national T.T.T. Society (Chapter EK), Quad-Cities Church Women United, Bettendorf Retired Teachers Association, delivering Meals on Wheels, following her family in their many activities and with a servant heart caring for neighbors, friends and strangers in many ways.

She is survived by her children, Debbie (Tom) Stelk  of Bettendorf,  Peggy (Leland) Smithson of Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Ralph “Chip” (Nancy) DeShon Jr. of Bettendorf; her grandchildren, Jeff (Linda) Stelk of Bettendorf, Steve (Tami) Stelk of Bettendorf, Julie (David) Yeoman of Mt. Vernon, Iowa, Kim (Rod) Petersen of Columbia, Missouri, Carrie (Matt) Gray of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Amy (Bill) McGurk of Columbus, Nebraska and Megan (Jason) Ryan of Naperville, Illinois; her great-grandchildren, Kendall and Corey Stelk of Bettendorf, Ben and Abbie Stelk of Bettendorf, Morgan, Caroline and Elizabeth Petersen of Columbia, Missouri, Alyssa, Lauren and Adam Gray of Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Zachary McGurk of Columbia, Missouri; and her step-great-granddaughters, Sarah and Katherine Yeoman of Mt. Vernon, Iowa.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Ralph Sr., in 1974, her parents, her siblings and their spouses; Eleanor (Fred) Vitale; Don (Betty) Arnold; Richard (Geraldine) Arnold; and countless friends.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials may be made to Asbury United Methodist Church in Bettendorf or to Chapter EK of T.T.T.

Margaret was a kind, loving, gracious woman whose presence will be missed by all her knew her. At last she is “home with Jesus.”