West Des Moines
Ethel Mae Reames, 86, passed peacefully into the arms of Jesus on May 30, 2013 after a fall at her home. Funeral services will be 2 p.m. Tuesday at First Church of the Open Bible in Des Moines with burial at Resthaven Cemetery. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday at First Church of the Open Bible in Des Moines.
Ethel was born August 3, 1926 in Maxwell, IA to Cornelia Ada Kaldenberg and Joseph Parker Pitts. She graduated from Madrid High School in 1943 and attended Capital City Commercial College, later known as AIB. Ethel also graduated from the Open Bible Institute in September of 1947. She married William J. Reames (who precedes her) in June of 1945. They moved to Clive in 1947, where they started the Open Bible Church and later the Clive Library Association on Harbach Blvd. In 1949 she started making fudge, divinity, and peanut brittle. When making divinity there was left over egg yolks and in 1952 she started making frozen egg noodles. The business was incorporated in 1963 as Reames Foods, Inc. Ethel worked in the business until 1972 and is still known as the “Noodle Lady”. She also started a small restaurant in Urbandale in 1974. Ethel loved traveling, quilting, crafting, snow skiing, and doing adventurous things. She rode in a hot air balloon at 75, snuba dove in the Caribbean at 78, and rode in a race car at the Newton Speedway at 81.
Ethel attended the First Church of the Open Bible for 57 years and during that time she was a Sunday school teacher, nursery mother, cook for special dinners, and most recently was the editor of the Senior Saints newsletter.
Ethel is survived and lovingly remembered by her three daughters, Lucinda (David) Hammerberg, Chrissie (James) Kephart and JoEllen "Jodi" Hudson; seven grandchildren, Beth, Bill, Jinah, Rebekah, Jason, Janna and Josie; 22 great grandchildren, Ben, Jake, Sam, Danny, Zachary, Cassidy, Aalysia, Jayden, Logan, Laiya, Markus, Matthew, Carson, Zachary, Wesley, Shea, Max, Jarett, Joshua, Kaylee, Lizabeth, and Isaiah.
She was a loving, caring, teaching mother, granny, and great granny. She doted on her grandchildren and great grandchildren and they all doted on her. She knew each of them personally and was their personal playmate when they visited.
Memorial contributions may be directed to the First Church of the Open Bible for missions.
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