Obituary of Marilyn Rose Althoff

EARLVILLE, IOWA

Marilyn Rose Althoff, 66, of Earlville, passed away peacefully on Friday, January 12, 2024, after a hard-fought battle with ALS. She was in her home surrounded by her loving family. Marilyn was born on March 25, 1957, in Manchester, the daughter of Matthias and Alberta (Holtz) Ronnebaum. Marilyn was raised in the Earlville area with her six siblings and received her education at St. Joseph’s Catholic School and Beckman High School. On October 20, 1973, Marilyn was united in marriage to Gary Althoff and they brought into the world three beautiful children.

Visitation will be held from 2 – 8 p.m. on Wednesday, January 17, 2024, at Kramer Funeral Home in Dyersville.  Visitation will continue at the funeral home from 9-10 a.m. Thursday prior to funeral mass.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, January 18, 2024, at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Earlville, with burial in the church cemetery.  Rev. Chris Podhajsky will officiate with Deacon Jim Steger assisting.

Her kindness and passion to care for others was seen through all of her careers. Starting as a stay-at-home mom she provided in-home daycare and spent multiple years at the Good Neighbor Home in Manchester. Marilyn found her calling while pouring herself into her work at Hills & Dales in Dubuque supporting people with disabilities. Her servant leadership and tireless devotion to her work showed through her nearly 32 years with the organization, 16 of those years spent leading as CEO. She traveled the United States serving on numerous boards and committees acting as a passionate advocate. Her monumental and positive impact on literally thousands of lives cannot be understated. People lived…lived longer, lived more meaningful lives, because Marilyn always pushed forward for more, for better, for the individual.

Marilyn loved music and shared her beautiful voice singing for church services and weddings with Kathy Johannes/Craig Carton and Darrell Lendt. Along with singing, she loved playing her twelve-string guitar. She was always surrounded by music, whether it be live music, as she attended many concerts, in the kitchen listening to the radio, or jamming out in her bug convertible with the top down. She also loved traveling the world with Gary and her family. She and Gary traveled to 49 of the 50 states, only missing Alaska as their cruise was canceled due to Covid. She loved showing the world to her kids and grandkids taking them on many trips. She was a huge Iowa Hawkeye fan, having season tickets for Iowa football. Marilyn and Gary were even gifted with cardboard cutouts in their seats when they couldn’t attend due to Covid. If they weren’t at the game, they were watching the Hawks play at home. Above all, Marilyn cherished time spent with her family and treasured every moment. Her grandkids were her world, and she never missed a sporting event, musical, play, or any activity they were involved in. She loved spending time with all of her family, friends and creating memories.

Left to cherish her memory are her husband of 50 years, Gary Althoff of Earlville; her four children: Tammy March of Earlville, Shannon (Deanne) Althoff of Delhi, Joshua Althoff of Delhi, and Max (Nilza) Gordon of North Carolina/Panama; seven grandchildren: Briana (Kobe) Ries, Shelby March (Drew Gravel), Anthony March (Claire Peyton), Aubrie Althoff, Emalynn Althoff, Mateo Gordon and Paolo Gordon; and one great granddaughter, Baby Ries on the way; three siblings: Dianne (Bill) Oberbroeckling of Manchester, Karen (Dave) Mensen of Delhi, and Donna Poehnelt of Manchester; sisters-in-law: Kim (Kyle) Downs of Hiawatha, Margie (Art) Nachtman of Ryan, Laurie (Craig) Rogers of Rockford, and Joyce (Mike) Wessels of Rickardsville; brothers-in-law, Darrell (Norita) Lendt of Manchester and Fred (Joan) Althoff of Peoria; and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Matthias and Alberta Ronnebaum; in-laws Ted and Leona Althoff; siblings Leon “Butchie” Ronnebaum, Elizabeth “Betty” Lendt, and Robert “Bob” Ronnebaum; sister-in-law Mary Althoff; and brothers-in-law Larry Reth and Dan Kaiser.

To recognize her life’s work, memorials may be sent to Hills & Dales (1011 Davis Street, Dubuque, IA 52001 or www.hillsdales.org).

The family would like to thank Jill Buschmann and the staff of Regional Family Health/Regional Medical Center; and Teresa Tibbott and the staff of Care Initiatives.

Kramer Funeral Home in Dyersville is assisting the family and information is available at www.kramerfuneral.com.  Memorials may be sent to the family, (in care of Kramer Funeral Home) 750 12^th Ave SW, Dyersville, IA 52040.