Marsha Ann Phipps

Marsha Ann Phipps, 76, of Newton, peacefully passed away on April 30, 2021, at her home at Progress Industries Group Home in Newton. Funeral services are scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Thursday, May 6, at the Smith Funeral Home in Grinnell, with Rev. Jim Dotson of Montezuma, officiating. Burial will be in Rock Creek Cemetery, rural Jasper County. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service at the Smith Funeral Home. The service will be live-streamed on the Smith Funeral Home Facebook page beginning at 10:20 a.m. Memorial contributions may be designated to MercyOne Hospice, 500 SW 7th Street, Des Moines, Iowa 50309. Marsha was born on December 21, 1944, in Grinnell, the daughter of Donald Eugene and Muriel Kirby Phipps. She was raised on the family farm near Rock Creek Lake in Jasper County. She attended a country school near her home and later attended school at a care facility in Glenwood. For the last 40 plus years she had been a resident at Progress Industries Group Home in Newton, where she received excellent care in a loving environment. Marsha held a fun-loving disposition and was always eager to take care of others. She enjoyed telling jokes to her peers and staff. Marsha was always full of life and never really expressed sadness. She was the first to welcome you when you came to her home and attending her DayHab program at Progress Industries was a real joy. She loved books, the biggest and thickest were the best for her; dolls, cats, and dogs, she grew up loving animals and never stopped loving them. She enjoyed listening to Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, and gospel music, and she also enjoyed going to McDonalds and Perkins. She especially loved her friends at Progress Industries as they were very dear to her. Survivors include her uncle Richard “Kenny” Shaw of Toledo; her aunt Carolyn Dayton of Grinnell; and seven cousins, Darrell Turner, Steve Phipps, Dianne Phipps, Connie Yearian, Randy Phipps, Cindy Icenbice, and Ron Phipps. She was preceded in death by her parents; and one aunt and three uncles, Pauline Turner and Hollis, Paul and Raymond Phipps.