Vera Green

Vera Phyllis Folkman Green, 91, a resident of Bettendorf, went to live with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Friday, February 20 ^th , 2015.  She is now with her Lord, and with all of her family and friends who have crossed over before her.

Visitation will be 5:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. on Friday, February 27 ^th at the McGinnis-Chambers Funeral Home in Bettendorf.  Funeral services will be held at 10:30 A.M. on Saturday, February 28 ^th at Asbury United Methodist Church, 1809 Mississippi Blvd. in Bettendorf.  The service will be followed by a luncheon at the church.  Vera will be buried at 10:00 A.M. on Monday, March ^2nd at Memory Garden Cemetery in Mt. Prospect, Illinois.

Vera was born on June 19 ^th , 1923, to Vera Sara Wood Folkman and August Folkman in Arlington Heights, Illinois.  Vera was the third child, having two older brothers, Vance and Daune Folkman, and a younger sister Maynie Folkman Tobler.  Her parents and siblings all crossed over before her.

Vera worked selling Avon products as a young woman.  In 1942 she began working for Paddock Publications in Arlington Heights, Illinois, learning the newspaper business from the bottom up.  In 1955, Vera moved to Springfield, Illinois and became the Director of Public Information for the American Heart Association in Springfield, Illinois.  The Regional Director for the Heart Association was Mrs. Brendon Dudley.  She introduced her brother, Buell Joseph Green, to Vera, and Buell and Vera were married May 31, 1958, in Arlington Heights, Illinois.  The couple moved to Moline, Illinois, where Buell was working.  On March 23, 1959, they welcomed their daughter, Dawn Ellen, into the world.

The family moved six months later to Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, as Buell was transferred there as a government inspector for the contracts at Honeywell.  The family attended Brooklyn Center United Methodist Church, and Vera was active on their Board and edited the church newsletter.  When her daughter Dawn was old enough to go to preschool, Vera went back to work as the Editor of the Brooklyn Center Press, the local newspaper in town.

The family moved back to Rock Island, Illinois, in 1965, where they joined First United Methodist Church.  Vera began working at the Rock Island Argus as a Reporter, Feature Writer, and writing obituaries.  In 1968 the family moved to Bettendorf, and joined Asbury United Methodist Church.  Vera continued to work for the Argus, and was very active volunteering in her church and community.  She retired from the Argus in 1985.

Vera’s husband Buell crossed over on August 14 ^th , 1999.  She continued to live in their condo in Bettendorf, and was an active volunteer at Asbury, chairing the prayer chain committee and volunteering at the Friendly Thrift Center for many years.  In November of 2014 she made the decision to move to an assisted living apartment at Wesley Acres in Des Moines to be closer to her daughter, Dawn.  She was hospitalized on February 14 ^th for congestive heart failure.  Vera made the decision that she wanted to go to hospice as she was ready to go to her Lord.  She moved to the Kavanaugh House in Des Moines on February 17 ^th , where she passed peacefully on February 20 ^th .

Vera is survived by her daughter, Dawn Francis and her husband, Doug Detrick of Adel, Iowa; her granddaughter Danielle Francis and her husband David Greiner of Mandaree, North Dakota; her granddaughter Liz Detrick of Iowa City; and many nieces and nephews.

Vera would prefer donations to help those who are living, rather than flowers.  Memorials can be made to the Iowa Statewide Independent Living Council (Iowa SILC).  The SILC is a non-profit organization that works to promote home and community based services for people with disabilities, regardless of the type of disability, and including the elderly, so they are not forced to live in institutions such as nursing homes.  Checks can be made out to Iowa SILC, and either dropped off at the funeral home or church, or mailed to Iowa SILC, 300 East Locust, Suite 330, Des Moines, Iowa, 50309