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Margaret Jean Burchland, 92

Margaret Jean Burchland, 92, of Grinnell and formerly of Gilman, passed away on May 30, 2018.

A graveside service and burial has been scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Monday, June 4th at Prairie View Cemetery in Gilman with Pastor Linda Myren officiating. Pallbearers will be David Pennock, Charlie Christian, Michelle Long, Mark Stubblefield, Helen Pennock and Joshua Burchland.

Visitation with the family present will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., Monday, June 4th at the Smith Funeral Home in Grinnell.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be designated to the Gilman Community United Church of Christ.

Jean was born on October 8, 1925, in Butler, Missouri, the daughter of James William and Eve Pauline Melton Hoffman. She was raised in Butler and was a 1943 graduate of Butler High School. She then attended a radio school in Kansas City, Missouri and learned how to communicate through Morse code. She moved to Huron, South Dakota where she was employed at their local airport. This is where she met Bob Penfold and the couple were married 1946. They were the parents of one daughter, Francis Eileen Penfold. The couple was divorced in 1949 and Jean moved to Chicago to be near her parents. She later moved to Clemons, Iowa to live with her sister and her family and for several years she helped on their family farm.

In the spring of 1952, she was united in marriage with Norman Toedt and they were the parents of one daughter, Norma Jean Pennock. Norman died later that year and she moved with her two small children to Newton.

On December 30, 1955, Jean was united in marriage with Nils Lester Burchland, in Newton. They were the parents of Calvin and Carolyn Burchland. While raising their family, the couple farmed near Newburg, Melrose and at two locations near Gilman. Following the death of her husband, Nils in 2000, she moved to Gilman and in 2012 she moved to Seeland Park in Grinnell.

Jean was an active member of the Gilman Community United Church of Christ, the Women’s Guild and the American Legion Auxiliary. She enjoyed taking bus tours, solving word-puzzles and shopping. She was very proud of her children and grandchildren.

Survivors include four children: Fran Stubblefield, of Sarasota, Florida, Norma (David) Pennock, of Oxford, Ohio, Calvin Burchland, of Cedar Rapids, and Carolyn (Charlie) Christian, of Ankeny; four grandchildren: Michelle (Jason) Long, Mark (Shay) Stubblefield, Helen (Camille Perri) Pennock and Joshua Burchland; and two great-grandchildren: Tyler and Ashlyn Long.

She was preceded in death by her parents; two husbands, Norman and Nils; three siblings: James Hoffman, Evelyn Martin and Gordon Hoffman; a son-in-law, Earl Stubblefield; and a daughter-in-law, Jessica Burchland.

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