Lonnee A. Long

Lonnee Ann (Milnes) Long, 77, died Dec. 8, 2013, at Kavanagh House Hospice in Des Moines of complications following a stroke. After a private family burial of the cremains, a memorial service will be held at Pierschbacher Funeral Home in Chariton at 11 a.m. on Wed., Dec. 11. Lonnee was born in Chariton, Iowa, on June 12, 1936, to Wiltsey and Velma (St. Clair) Milnes. She grew up in Chariton, attended Calamus High School, graduated from Chariton High School and attended Iowa Wesleyan College in Mount Pleasant. She was married to Rex Long from 1957-1979, and together they operated Long Motors in Chariton. To this union were born two children: Shari Denyse and Ronald Martin. She lived alternately in Chariton and Des Moines throughout her life, sold insurance for Farm Bureau for several years and retired from Principal Financial Group. Her last residence was in West Des Moines, where she moved in 2013 to be closer to her family. She was a member of First Lutheran Church in Chariton and a past member of the church council. She was also a member of the Town and Country Book Club and met regularly with a group of high school classmates. She volunteered at the Lucas County Health Center and with the RSVP program. Lonnee's greatest joys were her family, sports, music, animals, reading and crossword puzzles. She sang to her grand/great-grandchildren and loved attending the kids' sports and school activities. She was not shy about letting the referees or umpires know when she disagreed with a call! Family gatherings were always fun when Lonnee was around, as she was always entertaining (intentionally or otherwise). She is survived by and will be greatly missed by her daughter, Shari Woods of Des Moines; her son, Ron Long of Milwaukee, WI; her stepmother and friend of 69 years, Martha Milnes of Chariton; four grandsons, Kyle Woods (Mandy) of West Des Moines, Heath Woods (Lindsay) of Urbandale, Chad Long and Nolan Long of Milwaukee; one granddaughter, Alexandra Long of Milwaukee; great-grandchildren Brooklyn and Emersyn Woods of Urbandale and Owen Woods of West Des Moines; four sisters, Linda Swarthout of Oxnard, CA, Marti Kline (Shorty) of Mitchellville, Elizabeth Milnes (Micki Singer) of Alameda, CA, and Cris Stone (Don) of Aurora, IL; two brothers, Eldon Milnes of Long Beach, CA, and Jeff Milnes of Costa Mesa, CA; many nieces and nephews, aunts and cousins, and her beloved cat, Max. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations be made to your local Animal Rescue League or Hospice of Central Iowa (HCI).