Marjorie Loree “Margie” (Winchell) Thomas, 82, of Newton (formerly of Killduff) gained her much deserved angel wings on Saturday, June 21, 2025, at Newton Health Care Center. A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m., Tuesday, July 1, at Wallace Family Funeral Home and Crematory. The family will greet friends from 5-7 p.m., Monday, June 30, at the funeral home. Memorials in Margie’s name (checks to Julie Dodds) may be left at the funeral home.
Born Aug. 15, 1942, in Grinnell, to Lloyd and Pauline Winchell, she was raised in the Grinnell, Malcom, Kellogg, and Killduff areas. She attended Kellogg/Newton Schools, then Lynnville-Sully. She graduated from Lynnville-Sully High School, Class of 1961.
Margie worked at Woolworth’s and then at Neisner’s in the Newton Shopping Center where she would meet the love of her life, the annoying brother of a co-worker. Larry LeRoy Thomas finally won her heart, and they were united in marriage on Sept. 10, 1963, at Killduff United Methodist Church. Margie and Larry were proud to have celebrated 60 wonderful years together. They made their first home in Newton, and then moved to Killduff, where they would raise their four children.
Margie and Larry endured heartbreak early on when their second child Jeff was born with heart issues. In and out of the hospital, he lost the fight at 2½ years old. Within a few months, their third child JoAnna began having small seizures, followed by developmental delays. At the age of five, she was diagnosed with a rare neurological dystrophy. Larry and Margie’s love grew stronger, and they persevered.
In 1971, Margie graduated from Gerald’s School of Beauty in Marshalltown and opened Margie’s Klip-n-Kurl Beauty Salon in Killduff. The shop was open for several years before she closed it to provide full-time for JoJo’s needs. In addition to attending to her daughter’s daily and medical care, Margie took on the job of driving her to and from school every day in Newton, and then in Marshalltown. Margie and Larry were devoted parents and advocated for JoJo’s every challenge. They joined the Pilot Parents Program, at first to learn, then to mentor other parents of children with intellectual or developmental disabilities.
Having an artistic eye, Margie enjoyed sewing, drawing, painting (watching Bob Ross), crocheting, cake decorating, and a multitude of other crafts she would try her hand at. She taught her daughters and many of her nieces how to decorate cakes. Later on in life, her “go-to” TV programming was any cooking or baking and decorating reality show competition.
Margie had a strong faith in God and wanted to share it with her family. When the kids were younger, she taught a bible study class to her daughter, nieces, and neighbor kids on Fridays after school. Later, she and Larry joined Grinnell Friends Church where they were active in their theater productions. Margie usually worked behind the scenes as a make-up artist or painting backgrounds.
Margie is survived by her daughters Julie (Gary) Dodds and Mary (Dave) McPartlin, both of Newton; grandchildren Cameron Dodds, Hayley Dodds, Ashley (Brandon) Bonschmit, Landon (Katy) Criswell, Conner, Kaetlin, Micah, and Madeline McPartlin; great-grandchildren Kinsley, Rae-lynn, and Hudson Bonschmit, and Henry Criswell; sister Dorothy Weyers; brothers Ralph Winchell, Walt (Lori) Claussen; sisters-in-law Patty Winchell, Cindy Claussen, Violet Thomas, and Arlene Thomas; brothers-in-law Keith (Janet) Thomas and Denton Galloway; and many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her mother and stepfather Pauline and Stub Claussen; father and stepmother Lloyd and Marie Winchell; son Jeffrey (in 1968); daughter JoAnna (in 2014); her husband Larry in 2024; brothers Dick Winchell and John Claussen; stepsister Judy Galloway; stepbrother Jim Evans; and sisters-in-law Jerry Winchell and Carol Evans.
