Iva Burkholder, 93

Iva L. Burkholder, age 93, of Wauseon, passed away Saturday evening, May 17, 2014 at Heartland of Wauseon. She was born in Wauseon on June 25, 1920, the daughter of Ernest and Alta (Davis) Stevens. On May 7, 1946 she married Clarence “Bud” Burkholder, and he preceded her in death in 1979.

After her husband died, Iva started a scrapbooking hobby using pictures from all of the magazines she had saved her whole life. The theme of her scrapbooks was “soap operas”. Her scrapbooks became so popular that she began getting requests for them from all over the world. The success of her “hobby” allowed her to travel to Los Angeles and to New York on several occasions to be on the set of different soap operas. It soon became more than a hobby and became a job! She was a member of the Emmaus Lutheran Church in Wauseon. She was also a Gold Star Mother and a member of the Wauseon American Legion Auxiliary. She loved acting in church plays and loved spending time with her children and grandchildren.

Surviving are her children; Sharon Lillich of Northwood, Richard Burkholder, David L. Burkholder, Sandra (Daniel) Asbury and Patricia Cordes, all of Wauseon; 10 grandchildren, Jennifer, Tony, Michelle, Chad, Adam, Velissa, James, Carrie, Brad and Todd; 12 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, both parents, two sons, James and Michael, three brothers and two sisters.

Visitation for Iva will be held from 2:00 P.M. until 8:00 P.M. on Tuesday, May 20, 2014 at the Edgar-Grisier Funeral Home in Wauseon. The funeral service will be held at 11:00 A.M. on Wednesday, at Emmaus Lutheran Church, with the Rev. Charles Althoff, officiating. Interment will follow in the Wauseon Union Cemetery. The family requests that memorial contributions be given to Emmaus Lutheran Church or Heartland Hospice.