Charlene Eleanor Hastings Easley

Charlene Eleanor, daughter of Charles Almon Hastings and Margaret Lavina Rose Hastings, was born January 13, 1939 at her grandparents farm home near Paton, Iowa, and died at her home in Darlington, WI January 25, 2008 after a courageous battle with gall bladder cancer. Charlene grew up on her parents' farm southeast of Jefferson and attended rural school through the 4th grade. She then attended school in Jefferson, graduating high school in 1956. During her high school years she worked with her mother and sister Kay at Tucker Pharmacy. On June 3, 1956 she married Don Boyd Easley of Paton at the First Presbyterian Church in Jefferson. They were parents of three children: Susan, David, and Janie. While Don was employed at Iowa Lutheran Hospital in Des Moines, Charlene worked for Bankers Life Insurance Company. Don's career in hospital administration later took them to Wayne, NE and Galena, IL. They moved to Wisconsin where they lived in Marshall and later Darlington. Charlene worked for years at Dick's Supermarket where she made many friends. She enjoyed playing cards, all games, working crosswords, Sudoku, and was a voracious reader. Charlene loved birds and enjoyed reading about them. She was a sports fan , faithfully following her Florida and Wisconsin teams. Charlene and Don enjoyed travel and had wintered in Florida the past few years. Don died February 19, 2007 in Florida of esophageal cancer. In addition to her husband, Charlene was preceded in death by her father Charles A. Hastings; sister Ruth Hastings Allen; step father Harold James Conroy; and nephew Chuck Scott Hastings. Charlene is survived by her children: Susan Mundt (Frank) of Overland Park, KS; Janie DiPiazza (Bill) of Viroqua, WI and David Easley (Joan) of Marshall, WI; six grandchildren: Nathan and Nicholas (Dania) DiPiazza; Cassie and Alex Mundt; and Lucas and Walt Easley; one great grandchild Viviana DePiazza; mother Margaret Hastings Conroy; brothers Ken Hastings (Pat) and Chuck Hastings (Dina) all of Jefferson; sister Kay Renwanz (Harlan) of Scranton; aunts Mabel Rose of AZ and Ruth Hanson of Jefferson; brothers-in-law: Jerry Allen ( Lari) of Lynn Haven, FL; Dick Easley (Lillian) of NE; sisters-in-law: Jane Taylor (Carl) of PA; Joan Thomsen(Lyle) of TX; Ann Easley of MN; cousins, nieces, nephews and friends. A Memorial service for Don and Charlene will be held in Jefferson this summer.