William (Bill) and Lois MOTSINGER moved to Benton, Iowa from Grant City, Missouri in 1928. Their oldest child, Robert (Bob), who was six years old, started to school that fall. Retha May, their oldest daughter, was born April 17, a month after they moved. Five years later, Rose Marie was born on July 27, 1933, in 1935, the family moved to Grant City, Missouri. In 1936, Julia Louise was born. The family moved back to Iowa in 1939, the year the grasshoppers were so bad.

Bob graduated from Benton High School in 1940. He was a farmer and a mechanic. He passed away quite suddenly of a heart attack in 1964 [interment at Rose Hill Cemetery, Mount Ayr].

Retha May is the artist of the family. She taught school eight years and has her own art shop in Mount Ayr. She married William (Bill) FRENCH in 1949. He is a partner in French and Schardein Agency in Mount Ayr. Bill and Retha May are the parents of three children and also have three grandchildren.

Rose Marie is the bookkeeper in the family. She worked in the Jones' Store in Kansas City, keeping books for several years. Presently, Rose helps her sister, Retha, in the Art Shop with bookkeeping. She married Dean FUGATE of Kellerton in 1952. He is an Air Force veteran. He and his father operated Kellerton Oil Company in Kellerton. Dean and Rose Marie are the parents of four children.

Julia Louise is the nurse of the family. She is an L.P.N. in the Clearview Nursing Home in Mount Ayr. She is married to Lyle MINNICK, a Navy veteran and the the parents of four children.

Bill and Lois moved into Mount Ayr in 1963. They had fifty-seven years of married life together. They celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary in their home with their three daughters. The children had Open House for them on their 50th wedding anniversary at the Mount Ayr Christian Church in 1971.

Bill passed way on June 3, 1979. He had arthritis for several years. Bill and Lois were the parents of four children, eleven grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

Lois lives in the Heritage Park Apartments in Mount Ayr. She is eighty-six years old. She still remember Benton and has many Benton friends.

NOTE: William Lester "Bill" MOTSINGER, the son of Elias Harvey and Alice May (WHITE) MOTSINGER, was born in Worth County, Missouri, on July 7, 1900. Lois H. MOTSINGER was born in Missouri on March 6, 1899, and died on March 22, 1993. They were interred at Rose Hill Cemetery, Mount Ayr.

SOURCE: 1887 - Benton, Iowa Centennial - 1987. p. 190. Courtesy of Mount Ayr Public Library, Mount Ayr IA

Transcriptions and notes by Sharon R. Becker, October of 2012

Return to Ringgold County Home Page

To submit your Ringgold County materials, contact The County Coordinator.
Please include the word "Ringgold" in the subject line. Thank you.