November 1 1938 July 18 2019
Martha “Colleen” Sears, age 80, recently of Kansas City, MO, passed quietly at Carondelet Place on Thursday, July 18, 2019. Colleen was born on November 1, 1938, to Michael and Rita (Barron) Cronin on their farm south of Melrose. She attended elementary school in Melrose and graduated from Melrose High School in 1957. Later that year she married Ivan Sears in San Diego, CA. In addition to being a homemaker and mother of four, Colleen worked several years in Monroe County as a home health aide and supervisor. Colleen lived in Los Lunas, NM, for 25 years before moving to Kansas City for a liver transplant in 2008, after which she moved to Des Moines for the next 10 years. She loved animals, Irish music, knitting, and watching almost any type of sports. Colleen is survived by her 4 children, Catherine Ann (Kay) Sterk (Ron) of Kansas City, MO, William Van (Willy) Sears (Sherry) of Des Moines, Christina Lynn Martin of Katy, TX, and Robert Dean Sears (Jenny) of Edgewood, NM; four sisters, Collette Schurman (Bernard) of Melrose, Susan Kersten (Charles) of Omaha, NE, Carolyn Wills (Alan) of Altoona, and Connie Patterson (Michael) of Indianola; 3 brothers, Richard Cronin (Cathy) of Melrose, Michael Cronin (Sandy) of Prairie City, and John Cronin of Ft. Worth, TX; 11 grandchildren; 12 great grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her first husband, Ivan; her parents, Michael and Rita Cronin; and 2 sisters, Judy Moore and Regina Murphy. Visitation will be held from 9:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m., Tuesday, July 23, 2019, at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Melrose, with Colleen’s family present. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 a.m., Tuesday, July 23, 2019, at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Melrose, with Fr. Timothy Armbruster, C.PP.S. officiating. Burial will follow the service at Mt. Calvary Cemetery in Melrose. A memorial has been established to St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Melrose. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Martha Colleen Sears please visit our Sympathy Store.
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Martha Colleen Sears November 1 1938 July 18 2019.
Tharp Funeral Home and Crematory
Death notice for the town of: Albia, state: Iowa