Carole Waterman

Carole Waterman, 81, of Indianola, Iowa passed away on September 10, 2023 at The Village after a six-year battle with Parkinson’s Disease. She was born in Des Moines to George and Mildred Abernathy. She was a graduate of East High. She received her Bachelor’s and Master of Arts degrees from the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Her teaching career included colleges, Iowa Wesleyan and Graceland, community colleges, Muscatine and Richland Center, Wisconsin, and high schools, Cherokee and East Union. In addition, she taught communication skills to displaced workers after a factory cutback and to members of some farm families after the farm crisis in the 1980′s. She loved and touched the lives of all her students.

After retirement she will be especially remembered in the Osceola area as the director of seven community theater plays in ten years. She preferred the plays that had passed the test of time. Her favorite was Thornton Wilder’s, Our Town.”

In 2007, she was named Osceola Citizen of the Year. She received a Governors Volunteer Award for community outreach of HAWK-I, a free medical care outreach for Iowa’s children. She served on the Iowa Supreme Court Grievance Commission. She was chairperson of Clarke County Board of Health and co-chair of Clarke County Compensation Board. Her other volunteer work was with the United Methodist Church in Osceola, Clarke Area Arts Council, and Clarke County Democratic Party. She was a leader in starting a Questers Group in Osceola and was a member of TTT.

Carole cherished time spent with family and friends. She enjoyed travel in America to all but five states, trips to Europe, Australia, and Russia. She particularly enjoyed cruises.

Carole held dear her family and was always there to support and encourage them. Her love for her husband, children, and grandchildren will forever be remembered and cherished. She will be deeply missed.

The care, concern, and love of the health center employees at The Village in Indianola and Wesley Life Hospice meant so much in her last 20 months of life.

Carole is survived by her husband of 55 years, Steve, their daughter Julie (Phil) Stein of Algona, and two sons, Mike (Jen) of Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Andy of West Branch. Also surviving are eight grandchildren, Matt Stein (Ashley), Rachel Stein, Nick Stein, Allie Waterman, Abbie Waterman, Anna Waterman, Zach Waterman, Colby Waterman, and one great grandchild, Lauren Stein.

She was proceeded in death by her parents and grandson, Sean Waterman.

Funeral Services will be held at the Osceola United Methodist Church on Monday, Sept. 18, at 10:30 a.m. A luncheon will be held following the service, and burial will take place afterwards at Maple Hill Cemetery in Osceola. The family will greet friends at a visitation held at Kale Funeral Home in Osceola on Sunday, Sept. 17, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. A live stream of the memorial service will be available at www.kalefuneralhome.com.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Good Shepherd Endowment Fund at The Village in Indianola, Osceola United Methodist Church, or your favorite charity. Online condolences may be directed to the family at www.kalefuneralhome.com