Lena Mae Winters

Lena Mae Winters passed away on Sunday, May 17, 2026, at Franklin Country View Nursing Home in Hampton. She was surrounded by her loving family. Funeral services will be 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 30, 2026, at St. Peter’s United Church of Christ in rural Geneva with burial in the church cemetery. Visitation will be an hour before the service. Funeral arrangements are under the guidance of the Sietsema-Atkinson Funeral Home in Hampton. 

Lena Mae was born at home in Franklin County on August 1, 1932, the only child of Reempt Leonel “Leo” and Nellie Irene (Lauterbach) Abbas. Nellie died from a heart ailment when Lena Mae was 3 years old. When she was 6, Leo married Lucy Ploeger, and she would become big sister to Leo and Lucy’s children. Lena Mae attended Osceola #9 Country School, Eastern Star School, and graduated from Geneva High School with the class of 1950. She enjoyed playing basketball while in high school.

Lena Mae Abbas met Lawrence Winters on a blind date at the skating rink in Iowa Falls. They were married on March 16, 1951, at her parents’ home, six months before Lawrence enlisted in the Army and went to serve in Korea. They celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary this year, a rare milestone! When Lawrence returned home, they lived in rural Geneva, and Lawrence helped his father-in-law farm. The newlyweds later rented a farm on their own, and their farming career began.

Lena Mae and Lawrence farmed until they retired. She was an equal partner in the farming operation, not only doing the bookwork but also combining and helping with the hog and cattle chores. They built a new house in 1974 and farmed the land they purchased.

Lena Mae was a faithful member of St. Peter’s United Church of Christ in rural Geneva. In 1978, she completed a six-week course at NIACC, allowing her to become a ward secretary at Franklin General Hospital, a job she held for 17 years.

Lena Mae enjoyed sewing and quilting, and each of her 8 grandchildren received a beautiful quilt, stitched with love, as a high school graduation gift. Quilts were also made for her grandchildren’s weddings and great-grandchildren’s births before her health declined.

Lena Mae was an avid reader of romance novels, loved her Dove dark chocolate and the daily Jeopardy game show. She enjoyed the beauty of the wildflowers lovingly planted around their farm by Lawrence and watching the deer, birds and wild turkeys outside their window.

Left to cherish Lena Mae’s life are children Connie (Ricky) Sparks, Steven (Deb) Winters, DeeAnn (Mike) Keninger, and Ryan (Monica) Winters; grandchildren Stephanie (Curtis) Witte, Garrett (Holly) Winters, Kelli (Cody) Batemen, Megan (Jarvis) Hesnard, Brent (Chelsea) Keninger, Theresa Winters, Adam (Courtney) Winterhill, and Paige Winters (Rob Hanson); great-grandchildren Sophia and Cecelia Witte, Alayna and Kaiya Winters, Zane, Emerlyn, Brenna, and Atlas Bateman, Sloane Hanson, and Eloise Winterhill; siblings Leon (Sallie), Linda (Larry), and Carole.

She was preceded in death by her parents and her husband Lawrence.