Gwendolyn Rowley, age 81, of Kiester, died on Sunday, June 18, 2006, at the Albert Lea Medical

Center in Albert Lea.

Funeral services were held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, June 22, at Trinity Lutheran Church, rural Kiester, with the Rev. Chris Fiske officiating. Visitation was held on Wednesday, June 21, from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at Bruss-Heitner Funeral Home in Wells and one hour prior to services at the church. Burial was at Trinity Lutheran Church Cemetery.

Gwendolyn Ora Jeanne was born March 31, 1925, in Eden Township, Iowa, to George and Aurora (Hauge) Cox. She was baptized on May 3, 1925, and confirmed in the Lutheran faith at rural Trinity Lutheran Church near Kiester. Gwen attended Eden #6 Country School and graduated from Kiester High School. She attended St. Olaf College in Northfield and received an AA degree at Waldorf in Forest City, Magna Cum Laude. She graduated with a BA degree in History from Luther College, Decorah, Iowa in 1948. She taught school at Eden #5 Country School, in Marshalltown, Iowa, Pasco, Wash., Colorado (Denver and Evergreen). She met her husband, Keith Rowley in Pasco, Wash., and they married June 28, 1953, at Trinity Lutheran Church. They farmed about a year in Eden Township, lived in Albert Lea two years, and then moved to the Denver, Colo. area in 1957. They lived in Colorado for 24 years. They had two horses and a cabin they enjoyed in the mountains near Pine, Colo.

Gwen moved back to Kiester in 1981 and cared for her mother with the help of her sister. She was an active member of the Lutheran Church of the Cross, in Evergreen, Colo. and a devoted member of the Trinity Lutheran Church. She enjoyed gardening and sharing her roses.

She is survived by her sister, Audrey Wipplinger of Albert Lea; her nephew, Gary Wipplinger of Tacoma, Wash.; her niece and her husband, David and Gail Frein of Austin; two great-nephews, Dan Frein and Mark Frein; and a great-niece, Lisa Frein.

She was preceded in death by: her parents, her husband, Keith Rowley, and a brother-in-law, Leo Wipplinger.