Iowa County WI Archives Photo Tombstone.....McMAHAN, Laura Magdalen ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/wi/wifiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Erin Proctor Proctor37@charter.net December 2, 2006, 8:17 pm Cemetery: St. Bridgets Cemetery, Ridgeway, Iowa Co., Wi. Name: Laura Magdalen McMAHAN Photo can be seen at: http://www.usgwarchives.net/wi/iowa/photos/tombstones/stbridgets/mcmahan4664gph.jpg Image file size: 75.1 Kb McMAHAN, Laura Magdalen 07 Jul 1916- 01 May 2006 Dau of John Joseph and Annie Catherine (McDERMOTT) McMahan Birth:Iowa Co. reg deeds, Vol 13 pg 356. McMahon. Christening: In the German church instead of the Irish church by mistake. Godparents:Her Uncle Tom McDermott and her grandmother, Ellen McDermott.First comunion:Oct 03, 1926, St Bridgets, Ridgeway, Wi.Name taken at confirmation was Agnes. She worked 42 years at St. Josephs Hospital, which became Iowa C. Memorial Hospital. She started in the kitchen, and trained to be a Liscensed Practical Nurse. According to people in the area, Laura was a caring and thoughtful caregiver. They always remembered the great care given to them while in the hospital. Laura worked at the Dodgeville General Hospital for about 5 years. This was in the middle of her years at St. Joseph's. She walked back and forth 4 times a day because of split shifts. It was 2 miles each way! Laura never married. She devoted her life to her father, and brothers and sisters.She is without a doubt, the matriarch of this entire family. She is an inspiration for all the things she has done, that most women at the time couldn't or wouldn't do. She could makes repairs inthe home, and make do with less. Upon visiting her, you might find her on the roof doing repairs, or high in an apple tree. It was the apple tree that brought a change to Laura's life. While picking apples one day on Nov. 28, 1985, the ladder slipped and Laura fell to the ground. She crushed some vertibrates in her spine. Her life has not been the same since. Laura will also surely be remembered for her beautiful flowers in her large garden, and exquisitly kept lawn. It was prettier than most parks! McMahan, Laura M. MADISON/ DODGEVILLE - Laura Magdalen McMahan, age 89, of Madison and formerly of Dodgeville, was called from this life on Monday, May 1, 2006, at the Fountainhead Home in Madison. Laura was the second eldest and first daughter of 11 children born to John and Annie (McDermott) McMahan. She was born on July 7, 1916, at Cobb, Wis. Laura lost her beloved mother due to a sudden death on May 10, 1933. Her mother was buried the day before Mother's Day, leaving 11 children. Laura was 16 years of age at the time. Consequently Laura became the "mother" of the family, and from that period on dedicated her life in helping her father maintain a home and helping to care for the family. Laura graduated from Hollandale High School on May 29, 1934. She moved to Dodgeville in 1942 with her father and one brother and one sister who were still living at home. In April 1943 she became employed at St. Joseph's Hospital in Dodgeville. Laura worked in the kitchen for three years and then worked as a nurse's aide for one year before she became employed at the General Hospital in Dodgeville in February 1947. Laura worked in the role of a nurse's aide until she returned to St. Joseph's Hospital in April 1952. She was assigned to work on the surgical floor as a nurse's aide. In 1955 Laura took the examination to become an LPN and worked in the capacity until she retired from the new Memorial Hospital of Iowa County (formerly St. Joseph's) on Nov. 18, 1985. Between the three hospitals, she worked more than 42 years. Laura always took great pride in her work and was a very devoted employee. She is remembered and appreciated by many former patients as one who always did her very best to make a patient feel better by doing whatever she could do for them. Many times she skipped lunch and used her own noon lunch break to help feed patients who needed assistance. She always put the welfare of others before her own. Laura loved the outdoors and nature. She spent many of her free hours working in her large, beautiful yard and garden. Her yard was one of the most lovely and admired in Dodgeville, and her garden was always a model for local garden growers. Laura also devoted many hours in researching family genealogy. Throughout the years she also created and maintained many family memorabilia scrapbooks. Laura was a member of the Dane County Shamrock Club for many years. Laura has been a member of St. Joseph's Catholic Church and its Altar Society since 1943. Laura's family shall always remember the numerous and great sacrifices she unselfishly made to maintain a home for the family to come home to. She was a very special and loving person to her large family circle and friends. Her dedication shall not be forgotten. Laura is survived by her brothers, William (Esther) McMahan of Mount Horeb, and Francis (Rosemarie) McMahan of Madison; sister, Anna (Gordon) Mosley of Darlington; brother-in-law, Melvin Baumgartner of Verona; and sister-in-law, Jean McMahan of Dodgeville. Laura is also survived by several cousins; 17 nieces and 14 nephews; many great nieces and nephews; and several great-great nieces and nephews. Laura was preceded in death by her parents; brothers, Gerald, Glenn, Jerome, Vincent and John; sisters, Mary Pinney and Ellen Baumgartner; sisters- in-law, Thelma, Fern and Noreen; brother-in-law, Floyd Pinney; nephews, Francis Mosley, Mark Baumgartner and Gerald McMahan; niece, JoAnna Selmer; great-nephew, Jason McMahan; twin great- nephews, Christopher Symons and David Symons; and great-niece, Jammi Hui. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 6, 2006, at ST. JOSEPH'S CATHOLIC CHURCH, 405 S. Dacotah St., Dodgeville, with Father Paul Arinze officiating. Burial service will be conducted at St. Bridget's Catholic Cemetery, Ridgeway. Visitation will be held from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. on Friday, May 5, 2006, at the GORGEN- MCGINLEY AND AYERS FUNERAL HOME, 400 E. Grace St., Dodgeville. A visitation will also be held from 9 a.m. until 10 a.m. at ST. JOSEPH'S CATHOLIC CHURCH on Saturday. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Saint Francis Convent, 116 8th Ave. S.E., Little Falls, MN 56345. The family wishes to thank the staff at Sienna Crest in Dodgeville, and the staff at the Fountainhead Home in Madison for their loving care given to Laura. "How we did adore you before you closed your eyes to rest. You shared and did so much for us all. Surely, now you will reap the great reward for your service to us through God's final call. May God grant you, our beloved sister, a high place of honor in His eternal Kingdom." File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/wi/iowa/photos/tombstones/stbridgets/mcmahan4664gph.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/wifiles/ File size: 7.1 Kb