TOLEDO-Dalene Marjorie Smith-Brewer-Larkin, age 84, of Toledo passed away Friday, September 3, 2010 with her adoring family at her side under the care of Iowa River Hospice at Carrington Place of Toledo. Memorial services will be held on Wednesday, September 8, 2010 at 10:30 AM at Christ United Methodist Church Worship Center in Toledo with Pastor Brian Oliver officiating. Private interment will be held at Rose Hill Memorial Gardens in Marshalltown. Memorial visitation will be held on Tuesday, September 7 from 4 to 7 PM at Kruse-Phillips Funeral Home in Tama.
Dalene was born on October 15, 1925 in Waterloo, Iowa. She was one of seven children born to Earl and Hazel (Head) Smith. She graduated from Toledo High School with the class of 1943 and went on to receive her RN nursing degree in June 1946 from Evangelical Deaconess Hospital School of Nursing in Marshalltown, Iowa. Dalene's education in nursing continued throughout her nursing career and encompassed several courses of study taken at other colleges, such as Emergency Room Trauma, University of Minnesota; Coronary Care, St. Peter's Hospital, St. Paul, MN; Team Leading, Writing Objectives and Goals, University of Iowa; Interpreting E.K.G. Tracings, Burlington County Memorial Hospital, Mt. Holly, NJ and various other nursing related workshops.
She was a registered nurse over a 34 year period between September 1946 and July 1980. During her tenure at the Marshalltown Area Community Hospital, Marshalltown, IA, Dalene held several supervisory positions in nursing which consisted of Medical Unit Head Nurse, Medical Pediatrics Unit Day Supervisor, and ten years as the Assistant Director of Nursing, responsible for supervising all areas of the hospital for the night tour of duty. After leaving the Marshalltown area in 1979 she continued her nursing career as a Staff Nurse, Post-Coronary Care Unit, at the Burlington County Memorial Hospital, Mt. Holly, NJ. In 1980 Dalene entered the private sector of nursing as a Nurse Counselor for a medically supervised weight loss center as owner/operator of two Diet Centers in Glens Falls and Saratoga, NY counseling dieters and had a newspaper column "Ask Dalene". In 1992 she sold her business and started retirement. In 1996 she moved back from New York to her hometown of Toledo, IA.
Dalene married Richard Brewer in 1947 and he passed away in 1967. Later she was married to Sydney Larkin and he was stricken with a heart attack and passed away November 27, 1984. We remember Dalene with her sharp and witty sense of humor and she loved telling family stories.
Dalene's surviving children are Karna Kay Beeghly (Hugh) of Conrad, IA and Craig Brewer (Jill) of Hudson Falls, NY; grandchildren, Sara Beeghly of Dubuque, Wes Beeghly (Lori) of Ankeny, Vanessa Montoya of Conrad, Kaily Beeghly of Conrad, Linsday Beeghly of Marshalltown, Eric Brewer (Kristen) of VT, Brent Brewer (Jodi), Levi Brewer (Hillary) and Ben Brewer (Darci) all of Hudson Falls, NY.
She is survived by three sisters, LaDonna Rogers (Chuck) of CA, Earlene Bacon and Karna Smith both of Toledo, and one brother, Jerry Smith of MO.
Preceding her in death were her parents, Earl and Hazel Smith and two siblings, LeRoy Smith and wife Margaret and Dale Smith and wife Lucille.
Dalene was a member of Christ United Methodist Church in Toledo and active with her circle and the Toledo Women's Club and volunteered at the Marshalltown Medical and Surgical Center for many years after returning to live in Toledo.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, Iowa River Hospice, or Nurses' Alumni Association.