One of the last great housewives, homemakers, and spectacular home cooks of the 1950s and 60s has died. Alene Yvonne (née Sloppy) Seim passed away from colon cancer on August 18th, 2025, at 2:31 a.m.
Memorial services for Alene Seim will be held at 10:30 AM on Friday, August 29, 2025, at Grandon Funeral and Cremation Care, 414 Lincoln Way, in Ames, with Pastor Fred Lewis officiating. Burial will follow at Ames Municipal Cemetery in Ames.
Visitation for Alene Seim will be held from 4:00 - 6:00 PM on Thursday, August 28, 2025, at Grandon Funeral and Cremation Care, and will continue one hour prior to services at the funeral home on Friday.
Alene was born at home in Marshalltown, Iowa with a doctor in attendance at 11:50 p.m. on February 4th, 1930, and her family always celebrated her birthday on the 5th, until a glance at her birth certificate in later years revealed the time of birth. After her birth, her mother did laundry and hung it up to dry because it was an 80-degree day!
Alene grew up on a dairy and truck farm on North 12th Avenue owned by her father and grandfather, Herbert and William Sloppy, who also raised Shetland ponies. They grew fruits and vegetables on two city lots north of their house. On the other side of the road was the dairy barn, animal pens for hogs and a few turkeys, and field crops all the way from 12th Avenue to 18th Avenue. Even many young people in Marshalltown have heard of Sloppy's Pasture.
Alene had to gather eggs in the morning, which she didn't like and she gave the cows water and feed during milking, which she did like because she wasn't on the business end of the cow.
She would always tell you that their cows drank city water and they did because the farm was just across the street from the town. When harvesting small grains, she rode behind the tractor raising and lowering the sickle bar.
Starting piano lessons at four, Alene had a great aptitude for music, and she began to play the piano and organ in church at the age of 12, as well as sing solos in various churches. During the 1930s and 40s, the Marshalltown Public Library had a program in which elementary school children could come and watch various classical music artists perform, and she saw some famous people. Speaking of famous musicians, Alene met and took a picture of the opera singer Lauritz Melchior at Estes Park, Colorado on a family trip in the 1940s while he was sightseeing. In the 70s, she went up to Benny Goodman, who was standing alone in an airport terminal, and told him she just loved his music. He replied, "Thank you." By the time she was in junior high, Mom added another instrument when her mother Hazel (née Tychsen) went to the musical director and asked him what instrument he needed. That's how she ended up playing the baritone in marching band and standing next to trombonist Roger Maxwell, who kept the band in stitches. She played at the half-time shows during the magical year of the '47-'48 school year when Marshalltown was declared mythical state champs in football and the number one team in the state!
Alene met the love of her life when a substitute for their regular 4-H leader showed up to lead their meeting. Richard Knudt Seim was co-president of Marshall County 4-H at the time. They later went steady and ended up marrying on October 27th, 1950, two weeks before Richard went into the Army and was soon shipped out to Korea. When Richard came back from Korea, he knew he needed to get a college education and that's how Mom ended up living in a Quonset hut on the Iowa State Campus. During this time in 1953 Alene's daughter Becky was born. After many encounters with cockroaches, a polio scare, and a visit from Khrushchev, Dad graduated. He appreciated the support and years later would have Alene's name carved into the Plaza of Heroines at Catt Hall on the ISU campus. Read his tribute online. Dad worked for the Extension Information Service during which time their son Arne was born. Next was a nine-month stint at Wallace's Farmer in Des Moines and finally the family returned to Ames in 1959 where Alene has lived continuously in the same house for 66 years and was the only remaining original owner on the block. Here, according to her son, began the reign of some of the greatest cooking ever. Full dinners of steak, pork chops, and hamburgers etc. were required every night, along with two or three vegetables, baked potatoes and, what the family considered the main course, dessert. Pie, cake, or another extraordinary dessert such as cherries jubilee was demanded by the clientele each night. A simple bowl of ice cream was a comedown. Often the fruits and vegetables came from their own garden. Christmas meant 6 kinds of cookies and Scandinavian treats.
Alene enjoyed every moment of watching her children grow up. She supported her daughter through campfire girls, 4-H, and taught her to sew, cook and bake. She attended thousands of her son's athletic competitions from Little League Baseball through High School Football. Both her children are college graduates. She claimed she once attended more than 4 games in one day and she was right -- junior high, high school and college basketball.
There came a time during the 1970s when Richard needed to hire a new secretary. He turned to his wife and Alene joined the labor force after spending 20 years as stay-at-home housewife. She saw her husband through the last 15 years of his working career and then enjoyed a 35-year retirement. After taking some wonderful trips during their working careers, including a trip to Europe, Canada, the Black Hills, and a favorite destination - Minneapolis, Alene and her husband preferred to stay at home, putter around the house and work on their garden. They were both expert gardeners by practice, having grown up on farms. Alene especially loved flowers and gradually moved to perennials, so that when she was older the garden could take care of itself. Alene lost her husband in 2019 and lived 6 more years. She was diagnosed with colon cancer the week after her 95th birthday and lived 6 more months, astounding the visiting hospice workers with her seemingly good health until the last two weeks. They loved her good nature and wonderful smile. She was able to stay at home as she wanted and only spent the last day of her life at the hospice house. Even the last two shift workers at the hospice house, who only knew her for four hours were greatly impressed. No one could be humbler, more caring, or possess a stronger moral compass than Alene Y. Seim.
Alene was preceded in death by her father Herbert Lafayette Sloppy and mother Hazel Anna Kallem, two sisters, Avonelle Studts and Edna Kirse, and a brother Wayne Sloppy. Left to mourn her loss are her remaining cousins, many nieces and nephews, and her two children, Becky Jordan and Arne Seim.
Memorial contributions to honor Alene Seim may be sent to the Iowa 4-H Foundation, 1259 Stange Road, Ames, Iowa, 50011 and the money will be directed to Marshall County. Alternatively, you can send a contribution to the Marshalltown Public Library in Alene's name. The library's website will direct you to the Community Foundation of Marshall County and you can give online or download a paper form.
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Ames, IA, United States 50010
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Ames, IA, United States 50010