Phyllis Lorraine Branstad

FOREST CITY - Lorraine Branstad, age 89 of Forest City, died Sunday, January 27, 2008 at Mercy Medical Center North Iowa in Mason City, Iowa.



Funeral service will be Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 1:30 PM at Petersen Lund Funeral Home in Forest City with Pastor Mark Decker of Bethany Lutheran Church in Thompson officiating. Visitation will be held an hour prior to the service.



Burial will be at Rose Hill Cemetery in Thompson.



Phyllis Lorraine Branstad was born on a farm north of Leland, Iowa on December 7, 1918, the daughter of Philip and Lydia (Seikmeier) Branstad. She was baptized in the Lutheran faith and confirmed at Bethany Lutheran Church in Thompson.



Lorraine received her education in rural school near her home, attending King #1 county school. She graduated from Thompson High School.



In 1945 she and her sister Julia went to California to work in Civil Service. After a year and a half,she returned to the midwest and made her home in Waukegan, Illinois where she worked in the Military Pay Department at the Great Lakes Naval Base there. She retired in 1973 after 28 years of service. She also ran a boarding house in Waukegan.



Lorraine loved music. She enjoyed dancing and singing in church choirs. She sang several times with the Billy Graham Choir. She enjoyed caring for her houseplants and gardening. She loved the outdoors and over the years treasured the company of several cats and dogs.



Lorraine moved to Forest City in 1995. Failing health forced her to enter the Good Samaritan Center in Forest City in May of 2007.



Lorraine is survived by her siblings: Paul Branstad of Buffalo Center, IA; Julia (Francis) Burnham of Forest City, IA; Clifford (Grace) Branstad of Thompson, IA; Donald (Verneil) Branstad of Minneapolis, MN; and Glenn Branstad of Bensonville, IL and eleven nieces and nephews.



Lorraine was preceded in death by her parents and a sister, Doris Lehman.