Virgene Mcmanus

Virgene (Virge) Collette McManus, 69, died on Saturday, April 4, 2015 at Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines. A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 10:00 am Wednesday, April 8, at St. Theresa Catholic Church, of which she was a devoted member. Burial will follow the Funeral Mass. A visitation will be held at St. Theresa at 5 pm on Tuesday, April 7, with a vigil service following at 7 pm. Virge was born in Melrose, Iowa to Jim and Helen Shovlain on May 19th of 1945. She attended grade school in Melrose and graduated from Albia High School in 1963. She then took classes at Drake University for a number of years while working at the Register and Tribune, Swift and CompanyFeed Division, Employers Mutual, and Ruan Transportation. She married her husband, Pat, at St. Ambrose Cathedral in 1968 and settled first in Des Moines, and then later in Windsor Heights. Together they operated both McManus Real Estate and Apex Oil Inc. Virge was a lifelong Catholic and spent countless hours volunteering both at St. Theresa Church and School and at Dowling Catholic. She was a longtime member of the Altar and Rosary Society, served on parish and school committees, and for many years coordinated the parish's ministry to the homebound and elderly. She was also a familiar face for many of the customers at Apex Oil Inc., the service station which she operated with her husband until her death. Her favorite pastime was playing cards, especially Euchre with her family, and Canasta, which she played with the same group of dear friends for forty-two years. Virgene will be fondly remembered by her husband of nearly forty-eight years, Pat McManus, of Windsor Heights; her daughter, Colleen McManus Ites, also of Windsor Heights; her son, PJ (Father Dominic), of St. Louis; and her granddaughter Ellie Ites, of Windsor Heights. She is also survived by her sister Helen Kreber (Tom) of Sibley, as well some dear in-laws and a host of beloved nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, and siblings Ed Shovlain, Mary Lou Fitzpatrick, Jim Shovlain, and Pat Shovlain. The family would like to thank Dr. Thomas Buroker and the staff of MOHA as well as the doctors, nurses, and staff on Powell 3 for their years of compassion, expertise, and care for Virgene. Thank you for going above and beyond in your efforts to help her battle a difficult and rare condition. It was Virgene's wish that memorial contributions go to either St. Theresa Catholic School, 5810 Cara Carpenter Avenue, Des Moines, IA,50311 or Dominican Friars of the Province of St. Albert the Great, 1910 South Ashland Ave., Chicago, IL, 60608 (www.opcentral.org).