Don Ella Reed

Don Ella Reed, 91, of Mount Ayr died Monday, March 25, 2019, at Ringgold County Hospital in Mount Ayr.

Funeral services will be 2 p.m. Sunday, March 31, at Armstrong Funeral Home, 205 W. Monroe St., in Mount Ayr with the Rev. Peter Brantner officiating. Burial will follow in Rose Hill Cemetery in Mount Ayr. Open viewing will be from noon to 7 p.m. Saturday, March 30, at the funeral home with family present from 5 to 7 p.m. Memorials are to Ringgold County Public Health and Family Resource Center, both in Mount Ayr. Online condolences may be left at www.armstrongfh.com.

Don Ella, daughter of David Leroy and Gertrude Edna (Davis) Dailey, was born Aug. 7, 1927, at home northeast of Mount Ayr. Don Ella graduated from Mount Ayr High School in 1945.

On June 1, 1946, she married Kenneth Reed and they established their home in rural Ellston. They farmed south of Tingley until their retirement in 1991, moving to Mount Ayr and building a home on her parents’ lot.

Don Ella volunteered at the Neighborhood Center in Mount Ayr. She was a member of Presbyterian Church in Tingley, later transferring to United Baptist Presbyterian Church in Mount Ayr.

Don Ella is survived by her children, Phyllis (Russ) Brandes of Hancock, Allan (Linda) Reed of Spickard, Missouri, Alyce (Ed) Mattis of West Des Moines, Lisa Jackson of Ellston and Debra (Bill) Dodge of Des Moines; grandchildren, Arianna (Mike) Graham, William Dodge II, Darcy (Frank) Hines and David, Jennifer and Michael Dodge; great-grandsons, Colby and Caden Hines; brother Donald “Jake” Dailey; sister Jo Parker; sister-in-law Gloria Reed; and special nieces, JoKaye Shields and Karen Clark.

Don Ella was preceded in death by her parents; husband Kenneth in 1996; brothers, Harold, Jack, Howard, Frank and Merle; sisters, Darlene Harvey, Margaret Rhodes and Dorothy Taylor; and brother-in-law Joe Don Reed.