Obituary of Sharon Leora Quee

Sharon Leora (Anderson) Quee was born on July 13, 1939, in Little Falls, MN, the daughter of Dorothea (Bergman) and Sigfred Anderson. She passed away peacefully on October 16, 2023, at the Clarinda Regional Health Center from complications of a stroke. She graduated from Albert Lea high school and in 1961 from Luther College. Sharon then taught elementary school for two years in Emmetsburg, IA.

In December 1962, while skating at the Trianon Roller-Skating Rink in Spencer, IA, Sharon intentionally tripped the man who would become her husband of over sixty years: Elmer Quee. When school got out for the summer of 1963, Sharon returned to her hometown to care for her mother, who died of cancer that August. Since much of the family was in town for her mother’s funeral, Sharon and Elmer decided to marry just several days later, on August 31 at Grace Lutheran Church in Albert Lea, MN. This profound commitment to human relationships and sense of practicality would guide Sharon for the rest of her life.

In spring 1966, Sharon and Elmer moved with their infant son Eric from Fostoria, Iowa to Clarinda, Iowa. In Clarinda, Sharon gave birth to Cynthia in 1967 and Mark in 1968. She prided herself on baking over 100 cookies per week, which were generously given to paperboys, sanitation workers and the many neighborhood children who knew where the cookie jar sat on the kitchen counter.

Sharon was often seen bicycling around Clarinda to her nursing classes at IWCC, her various jobs including Noah’s Ark Preschool and later, as director of the Senior Meal Center, but also to the meetings of her many clubs and church gatherings, including International Club, PEO, Lutheran Women’s Missionary League, Bible study, and her beloved Wednesday Morning Coffee Club. She cherished the many friendships formed over cookies, coffee, and fellowship.

Sharon loved to read and was an avid letter writer, working hard to stay in touch with those who lived afar. She also volunteered for many organizations around Clarinda but is especially remembered for her work at the Nodaway Valley Museum, Clarinda Hospitality House and for years delivering Meals on Wheels. She received the Iowa Governor’s Volunteer Award twice, in 1989 and 2022.

Sharon is survived by her husband Elmer, daughter Cynthia (Mike) Rush, sons Eric (Carrie) and Mark (Jennie), sister Jean Rosendahl, granddaughters Emma, Clara and Gillie, plus several nieces and nephews and their children.

She was preceded in death by her parents, brother-in-law Glen Rosendahl, nephew Gar Rosendahl and many friends whom she cherished and missed.