- Born on: November 21, 1923
- Departed on: November 10, 2018
- Resided in: Belle Plaine, IA
Vera Engelbart
Vera Faye (Mills) Engelbart, 94, of Belle Plaine, Iowa, passed away Saturday, November 10, 2018 at Belle Plaine Nursing and Rehab Center where she had resided for several years. Services to be held at a later date.
Vera was born November 21, 1923, the daughter of John and Calista Faye (Martin) Mills, in Oskaloosa, Iowa. She contracted the Polio virus at a young age, and she and her family moved to Chicago so that she could receive treatment. There, she would undergo several surgeries. During this time, she developed talent as an artist and was awarded an opportunity to train at the Chicago Institute of Art.
While working in Chicago she met Don Engelbart, and on March 7, 1942 they were married. They had five children over the next nine years. Don’s service in WWII had the family moving to Oregon, but eventually moving back to be near family in Oskaloosa. Don and Vera were married for sixty-seven years before his death in 2009.
Vera was a very caring and giving woman with a powerful inner strength and conviction. In later years she was involved at the care center as a resident advocate. She also read morning prayers and prayed with individual residents. Vera shared her gift of art with everyone, making birthday cards for family, friends, and the residents and staff at the care center. She so appreciated visits from family and her many friends.
Survivors include her four daughters; Karen (Robert) Bradley of Cedar Rapids, Reta (Jerry) Slaymaker of Guernsey, Joyce (Rey) Bray of Colorado Springs, CO; Donna (Michael) Stark of Swisher; nine grandchildren; and twenty-three great grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband; son, Lonnie; parents; brother, Edward; and two sisters, Anna and Margaret.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation at www.bcrf.org in memory of Vera.
Vera was born November 21, 1923, the daughter of John and Calista Faye (Martin) Mills, in Oskaloosa, Iowa. She contracted the Polio virus at a young age, and she and her family moved to Chicago so that she could receive treatment. There, she would undergo several surgeries. During this time, she developed talent as an artist and was awarded an opportunity to train at the Chicago Institute of Art.
While working in Chicago she met Don Engelbart, and on March 7, 1942 they were married. They had five children over the next nine years. Don’s service in WWII had the family moving to Oregon, but eventually moving back to be near family in Oskaloosa. Don and Vera were married for sixty-seven years before his death in 2009.
Vera was a very caring and giving woman with a powerful inner strength and conviction. In later years she was involved at the care center as a resident advocate. She also read morning prayers and prayed with individual residents. Vera shared her gift of art with everyone, making birthday cards for family, friends, and the residents and staff at the care center. She so appreciated visits from family and her many friends.
Survivors include her four daughters; Karen (Robert) Bradley of Cedar Rapids, Reta (Jerry) Slaymaker of Guernsey, Joyce (Rey) Bray of Colorado Springs, CO; Donna (Michael) Stark of Swisher; nine grandchildren; and twenty-three great grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband; son, Lonnie; parents; brother, Edward; and two sisters, Anna and Margaret.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation at www.bcrf.org in memory of Vera.
