She was born in Mountaindale, Pennsylvania, to parents Clarence and Julia Conrad. She married Harold Apple of Altoona, Pennsylvania, on December 22, 1956.
Iva was known throughout the Wichita Falls community during her 23 years of service as the church hostess for Lamar Baptist Church, supporting thousands each year during weekly events and helping others through their grief by hosting funeral meals. She also served the youth of Lamar Baptist Church by preparing meals and hosting hundreds of teenagers over 20 years of summer camps at Falls Creek Conference Center.
Always recognized by her commitment to living her faith and her foundational belief that actions are more important than words, Iva also shared her humor with all in which came in contact. Many will recall her light admonition to her children and others that “love is blind, but the neighbors aren’t,” or bringing levity to differences of opinion by quipping, “that’s why there’s chocolate and vanilla.”
Iva frequently shared her love to others by opening her home to the lonely or displaced, including many airmen stationed at Shepherd Air Force Base, trying to provide them at least temporary reminders of the comforts of home.
Iva is survived by her husband of nearly 63 years, Harold Apple, and her five children, Gayle Salazar of Wichita Falls, Glen Apple of Wichita Falls, Dawn Jones of Fort Worth and her husband Mark, Betsy Gilliland of Weatherford and her husband Doug, and Danny Apple of Wichita Falls and his wife Lori.
She is also survived by her grandchildren Julia Anthony and her husband James, Max Salazar, Tanner Jones, Claire Apple, Doger Gilliland, Emily Jones, Laine Apple, Holly Apple, and Cooper Gilliland.
Services will be held at Emmanuel Baptist Church, Wichita Falls, on Monday, December 23, 2019, at 10:00 AM. Visitation will be held at Hampton Vaughan Crestview Funeral Home on Sunday, December 22, 2019 from 6 – 8 PM. Interment will be in Hampton Vaughan Crestview Memorial Park.
In lieu of flowers, the family request donations be made to the Emmanuel Baptist Church Building Fund or Hospice of Wichita Falls.
Online condolences may be made at hamptonvaughancrestview.com
