Madeleine C (Arndt) Wilson

Madeleine Carol Wilson, 100, of Newton died on Friday, December 17, 2021, at Newton Village Care Center. A graveside service will be held at 11:00 a.m., Friday, May 20, 2022, in Newton at Newton Union Cemetery. The family will greet friends after the service with a lunch at the funeral home. Memorials in Madeleine’s name (checks made payable to Clark Wilson) may be left at the Wallace Family Funeral Home and Crematory.

Madeleine, the daughter of Ernest A. and Carolyn A. (Cline) Arndt, was born on February 11, 1921, in Delisle, Saskatchewan, Canada.  She graduated from Sioux City High School in 1939 and then moved to Des Moines to attend Des Moines School of Cosmetology.  After graduating she worked at the Younkers Beauty Salon in downtown Des Moines. Madeleine moved to Newton in 1945.  On December 27, 1948, she was united in marriage with Kendall C. “Bub” Wilson at The Little Brown Church In The Vale in Nashua, Iowa. They made their home in rural Newton. In addition to being a homemaker, Madeleine worked in the packaging department at the Maytag Dairy Farm in the 50’s and 60’s and then as a sales clerk at JC Penney’s in the 60’s and 70’s.  Following that she ran Mercantile Antique Shop out of her home on the farm.  Many of the items she sold were purchased on annual trips she took with her sisters going antiquing and to farm sales. Madeleine also enjoyed painting, gardening, and wintering in Florida and then Texas for many years.

Madeleine is survived by her children, Clark (Laurie) Wilson of Davenport and Pam (Randy) Grimes of South Dakota; five grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild; and several nieces and nephews.  She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Kendall; her grandson, Robert Grimes; two brothers, Ted and E.A. Arndt; and three sisters, Norene Jamison, Thalia Baldwin, and Nanette Brock. 

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