Person:Sally Boomgarden (1)

SALLY J. CRAIG

MASON CITY — Sally J. Craig, 63, of 925 N. Plaza Drive, Lot 69, in Apache Junction, Ariz. died Friday (June 25, 2004) at Kindred Hospital in North Scottsdale, Ariz. Sally and her husband, Robert E. Craig, formerly resided at 8 S. Virginia Ave. and 516 15th St. N.W. in Mason City

Graveside memorial services and inurnment of Sally’s cremated remains will be held at 1 p.m. Friday at Memorial Park Cemetery in Mason City with Pastor Paul C. Nelson officiating. The family will greet friends and relatives at that time.

Those wishing to extend memorials or expressions of sympathy may direct them to the American Cancer Society or to the Sally J. Craig Memorial Fund, in the care of Robert E. Craig, 112 E. Second St. in St. Ansgar, IA 50472.

Sally Jo Leen Craig was born April 29, 1941, in Mason City, to Lola (Burgess) and Martin Boomgarden Sr. She was the second oldest child born to her parents and spent most of her life in Mason City. Sally graduated in 1959 from Mason City High School.

She continued her education for the next two years at North Iowa Area Community College, graduating with a degree as a medical secretary.

Sally and Robert “Bob” E. Craig met in 1965 at the Rose Bowl in Mason City through friends, Bob and Darlene Inman. After dating for approximately five months, the couple was united in marriage on New Year’s Day, 1966 at the courthouse in Albert Lea, Minn. Together, they parented five children.

The entire family enjoyed many memorable and exciting adventures while camping at various campground sites in Iowa and Minnesota.

Sally and Bob treasured their time together and spent numerous hours on remodeling projects and watching movies.

Sally took great pride in nurturing her family, most recently, bonding with and spoiling her grandchildren.

She is lovingly remembered by her family as having an easy-going and robust personality, yet sometimes, she could be quite stubborn. Sally was known to have a great sense of humor.

Some of Sally’s favorite leisure activities and interests included creating ceramics, reading, collecting items for her curio hutch, purchasing and giving particular collection pieces to her grandchildren, knitting and crocheting.

Prior to relocating in Arizona, Sally loved playing cards and visiting with the “high school girls.”

Sally was a member of St. James Lutheran Church in Mason City, the V.F.W. and Women Of The Moose. She was employed by the State of Iowa at Family Planning in Mason City as a recording secretary.

Following their retirements, Bob and Sally “wintered” in Texas for the first four years and Arizona since 1999. They permanently moved to Apache Junction, Ariz., in November of 2001.

Sally will be sadly missed by all who have shared in her life.

She is survived by her husband, Bob, of Apache Junction, Ariz.; her children, Scott (Donna) Craig of Mason City; Tracy (Mike) Anderson of St. Ansgar; Roberta (Larry) Geer of Beaverton, Ore.; Ronald (Dora) Craig of Rio Rancho, N.M. and Edna Jean (Bill) Howell of Des Moines; her father, Martin Boomgarden Sr. of Mason City; her two sisters, Jean Dunbar of Nora Springs, and Ruth (John) Keller of Nampa, Idaho; and her brother, Martin (Joann) Boomgarden Jr. of Steamboat Springs, Colo. Sally will also be sadly missed by 16 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren and many other relatives and friends.

Preceding Sally in death are her mother, Lola Boomgarden and her brother-in-law, Michael Dunbar.