Carlyss Major

Carlyss Delva Coe was born October 28, 1917 to Carl Coe and Mattie (Siler) Coe on a farm near Woodbine, and passed away at the age of 97 at the Greene County Medical Center, Jefferson, on May 21. Her kind and generous spirit will be missed by all who knew her.

Carlyss attended school in Harrison County and graduated from Dunlap High School in 1935. On Valentine’s Day, 1937, she married her high school sweetheart, Lawrence Major. They were married for nearly 60 years. The couple began their married life in Soldier, and lived in that area for 34 years, raising their family on a farm just outside Soldier. In 1971, they moved to Dunlap where Lawrence was a partner in the Dunlap Livestock Auction.

Following her husband’s death in 1997, Carlyss moved to Jefferson, Iowa, where she enjoyed being active in the community and in her family’s lives. She loved to play Bridge, and did so often.  She was a marvelous cook, and was always eager to share her home with friends and family. Visitors were always welcome in Carlyss’s kitchen. Her greatest joy was her family, and she never forgot a grandchild or great-grandchild’s birthday.

Carlyss was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, her brother Lawrence, and sister Dorothy.

She is survived by her three children, Charlotte and husband Robert Schmidt of Jefferson; Larry and wife Caryl Major of Phoenix, Ariz.; Janet and husband Michael Kahler of Torrington, Wyo.; eight grandchildren, one step-grandchild, 13 great-grandchildren, three step-great-grandchildren, two nephews and two nieces.

Arrangements are being made by Slininger-Rossow Funeral Home in Jefferson. Cremation has taken place and a celebration of Carlyss’s life will be held at a later date.

Online condolences to the family may be expressed at www.sliningerrossowfuneralhome.com.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to the Wounded Warrior Project, Mary Greeley Hospice, Ames, or St. John’s Lutheran Church in Dunlap.

Slininger-Rossow Funeral Home, www.sliningerrossowfuneralhome.com, 515-386-2171.