Isabelle Hawes
Isabelle Dorothy (Walleser) Hawes, 89, of Lansing died peacefully Monday, March 20, 2023 at Thornton Manor in Lansing, surrounded by her family. Visitation will be held at Immaculate Conception Church in Lansing Friday, March 31 from 4-7 p.m. Funeral services will be Saturday, April 1 at 11 a.m. with visitation from 9:45-10:45 a.m. Burial inurnment will follow the mass at Gethsemane Cemetery, Lansing.
Isabelle Dorothy Walleser was born June 2, 1933 in Guttenberg. She was the eleventh child born to Joe and Etta (Berns) Walleser. She married Leo (Bud) Hawes September 6, 1954. They purchased the family farm in rural Wexford, where they lived for over 40 years and raised their eight children. They milked cows for a few years but she spent many of those years raising chickens, farrowing pigs and working the land, alongside Bud and her children.
She loved to cook and bake; her vegetable pizza, Coca Cola bars, sour cream raisin bars, pecan tassies, pie and pecan logs were a favorite among her grandchildren. So much so, that they would always ask for her recipes and then state, “Grandma, it never turns out like yours, did you put something different in them?”
She loved gardening, sewing, painting, drawing, bowling, bingo and spending time with family and friends. Isabelle especially enjoyed spending Friday nights on her front porch in Lansing with Bud, her children, grandchildren, and whoever stopped by. It was well known that her door was always open Friday nights.
Isabelle is survived by her loving husband of 69 years, Leo A. (Bud) Hawes; and six children, Richard Hawes of Alma, WI, Lea Ann (Donald) Peters of Lansing, Steve (Shirley) Hawes of Harpers Ferry, Jeff (Rebecca) Hawes of Waukon, and David (Julie) Hawes and Debra (Brian) Benzing, all of Lansing. She is further survived by 23 grandchildren; 25 great-grandchildren; three sisters, Alice Griffin, Wilhelmine (Willi) Finkral and Phyllis Kimsey; her sisters-in-law, Alice Wood, Patricia (Jack) Darling, Mona Mullarkey, Maxine Hawes and Joan Walleser; her brother-in-law, Jack Darling; and numerous nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by a daughter and a son, Mary Kay (Scott) Geers and Scott Hawes; her parents, Joe and Etta Walleser; Bud’s parents, Leo and Catherine (Manton) Hawes; her brothers, Stanley, Francis (Chip), Lawrence (Duke), Louie, Bill and Ed Walleser; her sisters, Helen Freiburger and Colleen Brown; her brothers-in-law, Bill and Robert Hawes, Ray Wood, Charlie Corrigan, John Freiburger, Delmar Brown and Carl Mullarkey; and her sisters-in-law, Eleanor Corrigan, Dottie Hawes, and Velma, Mildred, Esther, Bernice and Delores Walleser.
She was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister-in-law, aunt and sister. The family would like to extend its sincere appreciation to the Thornton Manor staff, especially the CNAs and nurses that took such great care of her the last four years. The family would also like to thank Father Joseph Sevcik for celebrating the mass and Iowa Cremation for assisting the family with arrangements.
