Marsha Ann Mitchell's Obituary
Marsha Mitchell passed away on Friday, August 8, 2025 at the Kenny Brook Village in Grimes at the age of 76.
Marsha was born May 10, 1949 to Jake Day and Bette Hiatt Day. She attended school in Moravia and graduated high school with the class of 1967.
Marsha worked for Iowa Southern Utilities and Alliant Energy until she retired in February of 2006 after 35 years of service. She then threw her hat into the public service ring and served as Centerville's first female mayor for two terms.
Marsha was passionate about books and reading, owning more than 2000 books. She also wrote and published three of her own: Pieces of the Puzzle is a collection of poetry and short stories; Caravan is a novel and a book simply titled Marsha Mitchell is full of responses to questions her children asked her and to which she responded in written story form.
She also loved traveling and her favorite direction to go was west, with spots in the Colorado mountains and the Black Hills as her desired destinations. Yellowstone was also a favorite vacation spot.
A third passion of Marsha's was the arts! Music, books, theater and everything in between. She tried to expose her three children to as much of it as possible so they could enjoy the wide variety of entertainment she had experienced.
Marsha was preceded in death by her parents; a brother, Dennis Day; a sister, Carol Kearney; and a dear step sister, Judy Mericle.
She is survived by her three children, Tom (Anna) of Maryville, Missouri, Jan (Treve Gray) of West Des Moines and Nick of Brooklyn, New York; she also leaves behind six grandchildren and seven great grandchildren; as well as two brothers, Jim (Paulette) Day, Bob (Sally) Van Dorin; and a sister, Vicki Bride; special friends, Paula Mitchell, Vaness Oden, Jane Ward and Paula Jones.
Marsha was convinced she needed to give back to her community who supported her and her children over the years. Therefore, she involved herself in numerous boards, commissions and committees that serve the city and county. Think of a group associated with this area and Marsha probably was a part of it at one time or another. At the time of her death, Marsha was a founding member of the Ladies of the Page Book Club, a member of the Municipal Housing Agency Board and a member of the Rathbun Area Solid Waste Commission.
Per Marsha's wishes, cremation has been accorded. A Celebration of Life service will be held at 10:00AM, Monday, September 8, 2025 at Thomas Funeral Home in Centerville. Interment will follow the service at the Hillcrest Cemetery in Moravia, where she will rest beside her father and brother. Visitation will take place Sunday, September 7, 2025 at Thomas Funeral Home in Centerville with the family greeting friends from 1:00PM-3:00PM. Memorials have been established to the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary at Hot Springs, South Dakota, one of Marsha's favorite non-profits, and may be mailed to Thomas Funeral Home, ATTN: Mitchell Family, 501 North 18th Street, Centerville, Iowa 52544. Condolences may be shared online at https://www.thomasfh.com or https://www.facebook.com/thomasfuneralhome.
To view the livestream of Marsha's service, please click the link below or visit: https://my.gather.app/remember/marsha-mitchell
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