Theresa Anna Neal

Theresa Anna Neal, age 100, of Marion, Iowa, passed away Monday, December 23, 2019, at the Rehabilitation Center of Lisbon. Theresa was born August 4, 1919, in Valley Center, Kansas, to Arthur and Mary Brown. Her family moved several times when she was young, but she eventually returned to Valley Center to graduate from high school. She trained to become a beautician and worked in a shop that was close to the diner where she met her husband of 50 years, Frank J. Neal. They dated for a short time before being married on June 29, 1941, just before Frank left to serve in World War II. When Frank returned from the war, they had two daughters, Yvonne (Stewart) and Dawn Ann (Blair), and spent the majority of their married life in Colorado. After Frank passed in 1991, from ALS, Theresa relocated to Iowa where her youngest daughter lives. She made her home at the Oak Village Apartments in Marion for the last 26 years. She was preceded in death by her parents, Arthur and Mary Ann (Carey) Brown; her sisters, Dorothy Brown and Thadene (Brown) Hendricks, and her grandson Bryant Stewart. Theresa was a generous soul that always placed the needs of others before her own. She was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, “GiGi”. She was known for her skills in cooking and sewing and her home was always immaculate. She touched the lives of those that knew her and she will be greatly missed. She is survived by her daughters Yvonne (Del) Stewart and Dawn Ann Blair; her granddaughters, Michelle (Chris) Crown, Courtney (Byron) Kahl, Amanda Blair and Sarah (Brandon) Johnson, and her ten great-grandchildren. Services will be held on January 3, 2020. at Downing & Lahey Mortuary East, 6555 E. Central in Wichita. Visitation will begin at 12:00 pm followed by funeral services at 1:00 pm. Burial will take place following services at Sunnydale Park Cemetery, 10365 N. Hydraulic Ave. in Valley Center, KS. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in memory of Theresa to the ALS Association at ALSA.org.