Mildred C. Phipps Toney

Mildred C. (Phipps) Toney, 86, of Waukee, passed away peacefully on Saturday, March 13, 2010 at Iowa Methodist Medical Center. The only daughter of James and Blanche (Andrew) Phipps, Mildred was born on August 2, 1923, in Decatur County, Iowa.

Mildred attended grade school at Garden Grove and Grand River. In 1936, her family moved to Ringgold County where she finished eighth grade and went on to graduate from Beaconsfield High School in 1940. To prepare for her life’s work, she took summer classes at Simpson College and went on to earn three degrees from Drake University. In 1942, she began a teaching career which spanned thirty-four and a half years, all in Iowa. She taught in a rural school in Decatur County and seventh and eighth grades at Livermore before she was married to Thayer L. Toney of Grand River in 1946. When her sons were in sixth, seventh and ninth grades, she returned to teaching, taking a job in Kellerton. She later taught in the Norwalk School system and finally retired from her work in the West Des Moines Community Schools in 1992. For a time after that, she taught Iowa Writing Project classes for teachers in the Des Moines School district. Following retirement, she continued her memberships in the Iowa and also the National Council of Teachers of English as well as the International Reading Association. Mildred was devoted to helping children and teachers become lifelong readers and writers. She was an avid sports fan and especially enjoyed the Iowa Hawkeyes and Drake Bulldogs.

Left to cherish Mildred’s memory are her three sons, Gary (Karon) Toney of Ankeny, Ron (Sheila) Toney of Urbandale and Keith (Kathy) Toney of Humboldt, Tennessee; nine grandchildren, Jacque, Jodi, Julie, Jennifer, Melissa, Aaron, Abbie, Staci and Tricia; twenty great-grandchildren; numerous other step-grandchildren, relatives, former colleagues, and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, infant brother James Allen, brother Max and great-grandson Nicholas.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m., Wednesday, March 17 at the Meredith Drive Reformed Church, 5128 Meredith Drive. Visitation will be held from 5 until 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 16 at Hamilton’s on Westown Parkway, 3601 Westown Parkway. Memorial contributions may be made to the Susan Komen Foundation, the American Diabetes Association or The Iowa Writing Project.

www.HamiltonsFuneralHome.com

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