Beverly Winkie, 86

Beverly Winkie, 86 of Belle Plaine and formerly of Ionia, passed away Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020.
Services are at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, January 22, 2020 at the First Lutheran Church, Belle Plaine with Pastor Dean Duncan officiating. 
Burial will take place at Oak Hill Cemetery, Belle Plaine. 
Visitation is 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020, at Hrabak-Neuhaus Funeral Service, Belle Plaine. 
Memorials may be directed to the Wallace Winkie Foundation. 
Bev was born Aug. 11, 1933, to John and Bertha (Janssen) Kraft in rural Chickasaw County. 
She graduated from Ionia High School in 1951. 
Following high school, she received her teaching certificate at the Iowa State Teachers College and later returned to receive her BA in elementary education. 
In 1953, Bev married Wallace Winkie in Nashua. The couple moved to Belle Plaine, where Bev began her teaching career. 
After several years, Bev put her career on hold as she stayed home to raise her family. 
When the children were older, she resumed her career as an educator. In 1982, Bev began working for the Department of Defense Schools in what was then West Germany. She spent six years teaching lower elementary classes. In 1990, she retired and returned to Belle Plaine.
Following her retirement, Bev began a new career as an active volunteer in her community and state. Her most recent positions included President of the Wallace Winkie Foundation and board member of the Heritage Area Agency on Aging. 
In 2015, she was appointed by Gov. Branstad to the Iowa Commission on Aging. 
She was president of the Belle Plaine Historical Society for a number of years and led efforts to establish the Belle Plaine Area Museum. 
Bev also served on the Iowa Museum Association Education Committee, the Belle Plaine School Foundation, the Benton County Cancer Association, the Belle Plaine School Board, and was active in numerous other local and state organizations.
Her pastimes included playing cards, crocheting, doing Tai Chi, and making the best fudge and divinity for family and friends. She was a loving mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend.
She is survived by her children, Steven (Brigitte) Winkie, Dusti Winkie, Wendi Winkie and Eric (Lisa) Winkie; grandchildren, Kevin, Ian (Kathryn), Stefanie (Dustin), Claire, Anders and Elizabeth; great-grandchildren, Nick, Izzy, Forrest, Sebastion, Leo, Roran, and Zoe; and siblings Helen Knapp and Richard (Vera) Kraft.
Bev is preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Wallace Winkie (2013); and siblings, Marvin, Leroy, Shirley, Eileen, Merlin, and Kenny.