Madalyn J. VanderLinden

Funeral services for Madalyn Joy VanderLinden, 90, of rural Indianola, will be held Saturday, March 18, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. at the Pierschbacher Funeral Home in Milo. Family will receive friends prior to the service beginning at 10:00 a.m.  Burial will be at the Belmont Cemetery and a luncheon will be held following the service at the funeral home for a time of visiting and fellowship.

In Lieu of Flowers, Memorials may be made to the Southeast Warren Scholarship Fund or to the Milo Fire Department.

Born April 21, 1932, to Pearl and Pearle (Robinson) Clarke in Flagler, Iowa. She started school in a one room country school and graduated from the Milo High School in 1949. She then attended Simpson College and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Intermediate Education. She began teaching in Bayard, Iowa.  She took a small break from teaching at Bayard while starting her family and in 1968 went back to teaching at the SE Warren Elementary School. She taught for a combined 40 years and retired in 1996.

On May 29, 1953, she was united in marriage to E.A. “Bud” VanderLinden. They were blessed with five children: John, Mark, Paul, Kay, and Joy. She enjoyed staying at home raising her children and always kept a very large garden. The kids remember the summers gardening, canning, and processing chickens preparing for the winter months to come. These were the times Madalyn instilled in her children how to work and to work hard, a value that her children have greatly admired and have passed this trait on to their children.  Madalyn did a lot with very little. Some of these things have turned into wonderful family keepsakes. She made quilts for nearly everyone in the family out of the worn-out overalls and jeans that Bud and the boys wore.

Always a teacher, Mrs. VanderLinden was active in her children’s lives and was very involved in the local 4-H groups: Belmont Go-Getters and the Belmont Bell Peppers.

She lived on the farm in the Brown’s Chapel neighborhood, and lived there until just a few months before her death. She enjoyed having friends and relatives stop in for a cup of coffee.  To help pass the time she enjoyed needlepoint, quilting, crocheting, and most importantly, her flowers.  She loved to travel! She has visited all 50 states and of course, being Mrs. VanderLinden, she tried to highlight educational stops on her journeys with friends. This included visiting every presidential library.  She also traveled to Canada, England, Wales, Scotland, France, Germany, Belgium, and Austria.  In her own words, “I have really enjoyed my retirement!”

Madalyn passed away March 14, 2023, at the Village in Indianola at the age of 90 years, 10 months, and 21 days. Preceding her in death were her sons: Paul in 1983 and John in 2012.

She will be greatly missed by her children: Mark VanderLinden, Kay (Randy) Spear, and Joy (Pete) Seyfer; daughters-in-law: Julie VanderLinden and Traci VanderLinden; 10 grandchildren: Emily VanderLinden, Jared (Kelley) VanderLinden, Mallory (Martin) Wells, JR (Heidi) Spear, Jeff (Billie) Spear, McKenzie (Josh) Becker, Nathan (Devin Kelly) Seyfer, Sarah (Adam Davis) Seyfer, Ben Seyfer, and Laura (Rob Stephan) Seyfer; 18 great grandchildren: Trenton, Macy, Jackson, Aleah, Brennan, Hayden, Karly, Gavin, Dalton, Ella, Harper, Blake, Jocelyn, Reese, Aiden, George, Cora, and Ralph; along with many relatives, friends and all of the students that she taught over her 40 year career of teaching.