Gwyneth Ann Augustine of Ames, Iowa, died Monday, August 29, 2022, of liver disease. She was 81.

Known to her friends as Gwyn, and to her family as Gwynie, she was born February 18, 1941, in Washington County, Iowa. As a little girl, she was among the very first people in Washington County to receive penicillin, a medical discovery during World War II, for the treatment of an illness.

A defining element of Gwyn's life was her capacity to not only make friends, but to maintain those friendships throughout her life. She always spoke with, when she had the chance, and maintained correspondence with classmates in the Crawfordsville, Iowa, schools. The sisterhood of Delta Zeta sorority while a student at Iowa State University created unbreakable bonds and a lifetime of cheering at weddings, celebrating the birth of children, congratulating professional achievements, enjoying travel and tailgates together, and rock-solid love and support when the times weren't always so good.

As a PEO sister, Gwyn was described as, "...a glass of champagne, sparkling and bubbly!" Her book club friends appreciated her quick wit. A young cousin remembers how she could whip up a party in no time. Indeed--she had table-tops and decorations for any, and we mean, ANY, occasion. Over the last 30 years she hosted friends nearly every Iowa State football Saturday at her home near Jack Trice Field. The parking was a bonus--what you would notice is those friends would linger with Gwyn late into the evening.

In 1962, she spent 6 months with the International 4H Youth Exchange (IFYE), living and working with farm families in Ireland and Northern Ireland. The experience was a touchstone of her life, as those host families truly became family. For decades, letters among them criss-crossed the world, especially with one host sister who moved to New Zealand. In 2011, Gwyn traveled there for an unforgettable reunion with that host sister. Gwyn revisited other host family sisters and brothers in 1992, also a joyous time.

One friend stood out among all the others, however. While studying home economics at Iowa State University, she met a fellow student, Edwin J Augustine. They began dating, fell in love and were eventually married on July 3rd, 1965. They not only shared their love raising their two children on farms south of West Chester, Iowa, but they also shared their love of the fine arts--both acting and singing in community theater shows. Notably, they were the lead characters in a production of "Barefoot In The Park."

Gwyn and Ed had a passion for travel, too. They saw much of the world together, also passing on that love to their children and grandchildren. One notable example: she arranged a complicated itinerary of flights so that she could accompany her grandchildren in Seattle to Yellowstone National Park so they could spend time with their cousins from Kansas City. Really, though, she wanted all four grandchildren together so she could spoil them rotten. Never stand in the way of a motivated grandmother.

As the manager of an insurance office in Washington, she made everyone feel like a friend when greeting whoever walked through the door. So much did she love her church family at Washington's First United Methodist, that she coordinated wedding receptions there for years.

Those left to cherish the memories of Gwyn include her children Amy (Aaron), of Seattle, Wash., and Martin (Lisa), of Kansas City Mo.; sister Miriam Kenning and her husband, brother-in-law Greg Kenning of Richfield, Minn.; grandchildren Andrew and Seth Augustine of Kansas City, Mo., and Otto and Rowan Loidhamer of Seattle, Wash; sisters-in-law Nancy Jones of Cedar Rapids, Ia., and Janet Ferguson of Pueblo, Colo.; five nephews and three nieces.

Gwyn was preceded in death by her husband of 57 years, Edwin J. Augustine; her parents, Joseph and Elsie Belle Jones; and her brother, Joseph Jones.

Memorial information is pending. Celebration of life event and graveside service for both Gwyn and Ed will be held early next year.