Leola M. Nedved

Leola M. Nedved, 85, of Britt, passed away Sunday, October 29, 2023, at Hancock County Memorial Hospital in Britt.

Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m., Saturday, November 11, 2023, at First Lutheran Church in Britt with Pastor Anna Wolf officiating. Burial will be in Evergreen Cemetery.

Visitation will be held from 4 to 6 p.m., Friday, November 10^th at Cataldo Funeral Home, 178 First Ave. S.W., Britt, and will continue one hour before services at the church.

To view her service on our YoutTube channel please click the following link:  https://youtu.be/Og70FppkXo0

In lieu of flowers or plants, the family asks that you make donations to the Britt Food Bank or the American Red Cross for their blood donation service.

 Leola Marie Nedved, the daughter of William and Marie (Madsen) Lacey, was born November 30, 1937, in Mason City, Iowa. She grew up on a farm with her parents and eight siblings and attended Klemme High School for her first two years before moving to Meservey High School where she graduated in 1955. After high school, she began working as a switchboard operator at Bell Telephone in Garner, Iowa. While attending a dance at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, she met her future husband, Arnold Nedved, who taught her to dance. On November 16, 1958, they were married at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Belmond, Iowa, and had their wedding dance in the same ballroom. They lived in Garner for a year and in Hayfield, Iowa for six years before moving to the Nedved family farm two miles north of Duncan near Eagle Lake in 1965. While raising her three boys, she helped on the farm milking cows, raising chickens, ducks, and geese, and managing a garden. Around 1974, Lee started to work part-time at the Hancock County Memorial Hospital in Britt, Iowa, which led to full-time jobs working for Dr. Camp and other doctors as a receptionist, medical transcriptionist, and as support for clinical work. Her job was moved to a clinic in Clear Lake in 1987 after the doctors sold the practice to the Mercy Hospital system, and she worked as office manager and coding specialist until retiring in 2003. After Arnold passed away in 1995, she continued to live on the farm with her son, Brian. Lee loved life on the farm and being a farm wife. After retiring, Lee continued to be active in her church (First Lutheran of Britt), served as an election poll worker, supported the local Lioness group, and volunteered at the Britt Food Bank and the elementary school. She enjoyed spending time with her grandchildren, baking, and maintaining her garden and the farm acreage (especially the lawn!). She also loved taking trips to various locations in Iowa with her son, Brian, to fish, visit apple orchards, and explore the scenery.

Lee is survived by her two sons, Michael (Michelle) Nedved of Downingtown, PA and Rodney (Shawna) Nedved of Wentzville, MO; five grandchildren, Joshua, Chloe, Kayla, Aaron, and Nicholas Nedved; four siblings, Roger (Gail) Lacey of Sheffield, IA, Ron (Carol) Lacey of Kansas City, MO, Dorothy (Henry) Gerdes and Norma Gerdes of Belmond, IA; sisters-in-law, Donna Nedved of Clear Lake, Betty Nedved of Garner and Joanne Nedved of Gladstone, MO; and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Arnold; son, Brian (Feb. 17, 2022); and siblings, William Lacey, Betty Pralle, Ruth Kaduce, and Elaine Ristau.