This is a Message Board Post. Reply to the message or author by clicking on the link below. *************************************************************************** MESSAGE: (#141073) Ramona Jane Larkin 1929 - 2007 <http://iagenweb.org/boards/allamakee/obituaries/index.cgi?rev=141073> AUTHOR: Errin Wilker DATE: 1/14/2007 at 11:37:56 Surnames: LARKIN,BROWN,MCDOWELL,GUTHRIE,ROCKWELL,RODRIGUEZ,SKEELS,BELL,JOHNSON,INGLES Ramona J. Larkin, 77, of Waukon, died Monday, Jan. 1, 2007 at Good Samaritan Center in Waukon. Funeral services were held Saturday, Jan. 6 at 11 a.m. at St. Pius Cherry Mound Catholic Church in rural Harpers Ferry. Father Louis Trzil officiated. Burial was in Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Waukon. Ramona Jane Larkin was born June 5, 1929 in Clayton County, the daughter of Joseph William and Ethel (Brown) McDowell. She grew up in Elkport and attended Elkport schools. She married Clement William Larkin at the Church of the Nativity in Dubuque September 24, 1949. They farmed throughout their married life in Jefferson and Paint Creek Townships of Allamakee County. Ramona always had a big garden and canned hundreds of jars of fruits and vegetables every year. Ramona and Clem retired from the farm in 1994 and moved to Waukon. Ramona was an active member of St. Pius at Cherry Mound Catholic Church and the St. Pius Rosary Society. She belonged to Homemakers Club and later volunteered as a receptionist at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon. Ramona enjoyed sewing and sewed for herself and her children. She also enjoyed making comforters and made many as gifts for family and friends. Dancing with Clem to the Toetappers Sunday afternoons and the monthly card club gatherings were some of Ramona's other favorite pastimes. Her greatest joy was time spent with her grandchildren. Survivors include her husband Clem of Waukon; six children, Helen (Verle) Guthrie of Highlands Ranch, CO, Michael Larkin of Goose Creek, SC, Elaine Rockwell of Des Moines, John (Sherry) Larkin of Aurora, CO, Thomas Larkin of Erie, CO, and Brian (Sara) Larkin of Vinton; nine grandchildren, Abby, Rachael, John, Katie, Miranda, Elthia and Timothy Larkin, Patti (Bill) Rodriguez and John (Adrienne) Skeels; a great-grandson, Sean Larkin; a brother, John (Dora) McDowell and a foster brother, Dale Lee (Diane) Brown, both of Edgewood; and seven godchildren, Patty Dahlstrom, Monica Roderick, Duane Larkin, Don Ryan, Mike Gallagher, Sheila Hoerner and Mary Clark. She is preceded in death by her parents; two grandchildren, Michael and Mary Ellen Larkin; a son-in-law, Al Rockwell; three sisters, Pearl Bell, Martha Johnson and Dorothy Ingles; and a brother, Edgar McDowell. Honorary casketbearers were Sheila Hoerner, Trisha Horstman, Patty Dahlstrom and Gene, Jerry and Cyril Potts. Casketbearers were Bob, Duane and Pete Larkin, Don and Tom Ryan and Mike Gallagher. Memorials in Ramona's name may be made to the charity of your choice and sent to Martin Funeral Home, where they will be forwarded to her husband, Clem. Source: Waukon Standard