Margaret June Bram

Margaret “Marge” Bram, 92, of Oskaloosa passed away Saturday morning, July 26, 2014, at Crystal Heights Care Center in Oskaloosa. Margaret June Bram was born June 19, 1922 in Graettinger, Iowa to Robert and Effie (Sutter) Lowman. The family moved to rural Kelley, Iowa when Marge was a young girl and she attended school in Kelley and graduated in 1940. The fall of that year she met a handsome young man attending Iowa State University. They courted for almost three years, and were married March 21, 1943, prior to his enlistment in the Army. Marge followed Jake to Gadsden, AL and Colorado, where Jake was in military training and officer’s school before she returned to Ames to live with her sister while Jake was stationed in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. While in Ames, Marge worked in the ammunition plant in Ankeny. In the spring of 1945, Jake was reassigned to Baltimore, MD and again Marge was able to join him. Upon his discharge from active duty, Jake and Marge returned to Ames so Jake could finish his education. After his graduation they moved to Fort Dodge, where Jake taught high school and worked for ISU Extension. In 1950, Marge and Jake moved their family to Oskaloosa, where Jake took a position with the Des Moines Register. Marge was a homemaker, but was also very helpful in supporting her husband in his professions. Marge enjoyed the role of homemaker and she took much pride in keeping an orderly and attractive household. She was an excellent seamstress and sewed her own draperies and many of her daughters’ clothes. When her daughters were young, Marge was active as a Brownie and Girl Scout troop leader. She was a member of St. Paul Congregational United Church of Christ and was active in the Ladies Association. She was also a member of King’s Daughters. Her family includes her daughters and son-in-law: Vicki and Richard Brown of Oskaloosa and Susan Johnson of Pella; four grandchildren: Nick (Erica) Hatzievgenakis of Phoenix, AZ, Matthew (Tonia) Brown of Redmond, WA, Todd Brown of North Carolina, and Tracy (Matt) Brice of College Station, TX; five great-grandchildren: Jon Peden, Caden Brice, Caley Brice, and Holden and Haley Brown; a brother, Donald Lowman of Mt. Ayer; and two sisters-in-law, Betty Ripley of Perry and Opal Bram of Clear Lake. In addition to her parents, Marge was preceded in death by her husband, Jake, on January 19, 2006; two brothers: Loyal and Glen Lowman and two sisters: Maytha Hibbs and Velma Rice. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m., Friday morning, August 1, at Garland-Van Arkel-Langkamp Funeral Chapel. Burial will be in Forest Cemetery. Visitation will begin at 11 a.m., Thursday, at the funeral chapel; the family will greet visitors from 5-7 p.m. Memorials may be made to the Jake and Marge Bram Memorial Scholarship with Indian Hill Community College Foundation, and sent to: 525 Grandview Ave. Ottumwa, IA 52501. PDF Printable Version

Margaret June Bram

June 19, 1922 - July 26, 2014