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Marie Bird, the oldest of four children of George Perkins and Jenny (Booth) Perkins, was born on May 31, 1907 in Winterset, Iowa. The family moved to the Thurman and Bartlett, Iowa area when Marie was four years old. Marie graduated from the Bartlett High School in 1926.
Following high school, Marie worked on a farm near Shenandoah, Iowa where she met Russell Gale Bird. They were married on February 19, 1929 in Omaha, Nebraska and made their first home on a farm near Shenandoah. They later moved to Glenwood, Iowa where the marriage was blessed with their first three children, Kenneth, Lorraine, and Clinton. The family moved to Malvern, Iowa where daughters, Fran, Betty, and Dixie were born. Russell worked at the Martin Bomber plant near Omaha and later for the Soil Conservation District. For 30 years, Russell was a well man and plumber. Marie enjoyed being a mother and homemaker. She enjoyed cooking and baking, gardening, canning and freezing the produce, sewing and crocheting. She later worked at the Henningsen Egg Processing Plant in Malvern and was a cook for the Malvern School for 22 years. Marie retired at the age of 72 years.
Marie and Russell had been married nearly 39 years at the time of Russell's death on November 19, 1967. Marie continued to live in Malvern until moving to Glenwood in 1985. She was a member of the First Christian Church in Glenwood. Marie loved being with her family and took great joy in her grandchildren and her great grandchildren.
Marie died at the Glen Haven Home in Glenwood on July 17, 2005, at the age of 98 years, 1 month, and 16 days. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband Russell Bird; sister Alice Adams; brother Ralph Perkins; son Kenneth Bird; grandson Marty Dailey; and son-in-law Pete Dailey.
Marie is survived by her children; Lorraine Dailey of Wichita Falls, Texas; Clinton Bird and his wife Monette of Gresham, Oregon; Fran Rainey and husband Bill of Glenwood, Iowa; Betty Kosarek and her husband Jerry of Grand Junction, Colorado; Dixie Cashero and her husband Jim of Commerce City, Colorado; daughter-in-law Gleada Bird of Laramie, Wyoming; brother Hubert Perkins of Glenwood, Iowa; nineteen grandchildren; great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren; and long time roommate Deloris Bebensee of the Glen Haven Home.
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"I was sad to read about the passing of your mother. I didn't realize that she was nearing a century. Dixie and I were classmates and were together quite a lot growing up as we were neighbors and lived only a block away. I have very nice memories of how nice Mrs. Bird was to me. I know that she was a very hard worker and really loved her family. "