Marilyn "Kay" (Burk) Harger

Marilyn “Kay” Harger, 83, of Newton, passed into glory on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, at Valley Vista Nursing and Rehab in Newton. A funeral service will be held at 11:30 a.m., Tuesday, February 10, 2026, at the Wallace Family Funeral Home and Crematory. The family will greet friends from 10:00 a.m. until the time of service.  Memorials in Kay’s name (checks to Jack Harger) may be left at the funeral home.

Marilyn “Kay” (Burk) Harger was born in Hamilton, Iowa, on May 2, 1942, to Robert and Leona (Clark) Burk. When Kay was a child, her family moved to Newton, Iowa. Kay worked at the Maytag Hotel in Newton as a waitress where she met a bus boy, Jack Harger. Because her mother Leona also worked there, Jack and Kay would meet downstairs by the ice machine to talk. After proposing by that same ice machine, they were married on January 9, 1961, at St. John’s Church, north of Newton.

Kay enjoyed camping and fishing. She also loved to cut a rug square dancing with family and friends. Going to weekly Bingo was a must with friends, Ruth and Dale, and she would even take along a grandchild or two. Kay enjoyed collecting and trading baseball cards and had lovingly made quilts for all her granddaughters.  Kay gave her life to Christ at Immanuel Baptist Church where she was baptized.

Kay is survived by her husband of 65 years, Jack Harger; three daughters, Vicky (Mark) Farver of Newton, Jacqueline (Larry) Walker of Hastings, Minnesota, and Brenda (Jason) Anderson of Newton; her sister, Judy (Philip) Dearing of Kansas City, Missouri; brothers, Dean (Billie) Burk of Altoona and Denny Burk of Orlando, Florida; eight grandchildren; and 17 Great Grandchildren. Kay was preceded in death by her parents, Robert and Leona Burk; sisters, Janet Chapman and Loretta Driskell; and brothers, Steven Jack Burk and Robert Burk.

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