Meta Ilse Lage

Meta I. Lage, 84, of Sheffield, Iowa, went to be with her Lord and Savior on Thursday, July 6, 2023. Meta passed away at the Sheffield Care Center. Funeral Services will be held at 10:30 AM on Tuesday, July 11, 2023, at First Grace Baptist Church, 404 E Gilman Street, Sheffield, Iowa, with Pastor Matt Reeves officiating. Visitation will be from 4:00 to 7:00 PM, Monday, July 10, 2023, at First Grace Baptist Church. Memorials will be donated to The Gideons International. Counsell Woodley Funeral Home and Cremation Services of Sheffield is caring for Meta and her family. Meta was born May 13, 1939, in Marshalltown, Iowa, to Fritz and Augusta (Viering) Viering. She graduated from Beaman High School in 1957, and later received her Home Economics Degree from Iowa Teacher’s College (UNI). She was united in marriage to John Lage on April 9, 1961, at Peace Evangelical and Reformed Church of Gladbrook, Iowa. She was a member of the First Grace Baptist Church. She faithfully served on the mission board, as a Sunday School teacher, as a youth group leader, donated hundreds of Operation Christmas Child boxes, sang in the choir and with the Twinkle Sisters group. Meta enjoyed being involved in all aspects of the church and encouraging everyone in their faith walk. She was also a member of The Gideons International Auxiliary and the Sheffield Philharmonic Music Club. Meta had a servant’s heart and the gifts of teaching and hospitality. She treasured times spent with her family and she made the holidays and dinners together very special. A family highlight was Meta’s idea for the entire family to travel to Chicago to attend Hamilton and celebrate John’s 80th birthday. She loved taking her grandchildren on day trips all over Iowa, delivering meals on wheels together, helping with 4-H projects, teaching them to cook and sew and enjoying long lunches at the local restaurants. She also loved visiting and working on projects with many dear friends. She served for 30+ years as a 4-H Leader and enjoyed judging home improvement at the local fairs and Iowa State Fair. She served on the Sheffield Care Center Board of Directors for 27 years, many of those years as the treasurer. She volunteered at Sheffield elementary school and was presented with the Feb 2007 KIMT Giving Your Best Award. Meta and John were Grand Marshalls for the 2004 Sheffield Parade. She encouraged and taught hundreds of youths how to cook, sew, quilt and how to laugh and share the joy of learning. Meta was an avid quilter, having designed, donated, and created 100+ quilts for family, friends, special events, homeless shelters, and the Caring Pregnancy Center. Her long-arm quilt machine allowed her to be even more creative. She also had a passion for Prairie School Architecture, genealogy and sharing the family history with the next generation, thrift shopping as well as designing and working in her perennial flower gardens. Meta is survived by husband John Lage of Sheffield; and their sons Michael (Diana) of Sheffield, Mark (Pamela) of Sheffield, and Brian of Gladbrook; their grandchildren Brandon of Chicago, Tyler (Molly) of West Des Moines, Ryan (Kelli) of Sheffield, Jacob (Maggie) of Brooklyn Park, MN, Alex Whitney of Ames, and Joe of Gladbrook; and their great-grandchildren Callysta, Katrina, Peter, Norah, Charlotte, and Claire. She is also survived by her sisters Linda (Stan) Marlow, Ilene (Dennis) Cook, Helen (Gary) Hinders, sisters-in-law Sue Viering and Colleen Lage and all their families, as well as many relatives in Germany. She was preceded in death by her parents, Fritz and Augusta Viering, daughter-in-law Brenda Lage-Olson (Brian’s wife), brothers Fred, Walter (Sue’s husband) and Warren Viering, and brother-in-law Gerald Lage (Colleen’s husband).

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Meta Ilse Lage

May 13, 1939 - July 6, 2023