Gelene Kay Sibert, 81, passed away on March 18, 2025, in Lee's Summit, Missouri. Family will greet guests from 2:00-4:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 23, 2025, at Pierschbacher Funeral Home in Chariton, Iowa. A funeral service will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, March 24, 2025, at the funeral home. Gelene will be interred in Russell Cemetery following services. Memorials may be made to the University of Iowa Children's Hospital-Stead Family Children's Hospital in Gelenes name.
Gelene was born August 5, 1943, at a home on a farm south of Chariton. She was the middle child of 5, an older brother and sister, and a younger brother and sister. By the farm where they grew up, there was a bridge over Honey Creek, and Gelene and her siblings loved playing at the bridge as children so much, that 70 years later she asked to be taken there again. It was special to her. She loved her baby dolls and loved animals her whole life. She had very cherished memories of Christmas, including the year she and her sister Marcia received Green Ruffled Bloomers for Christmas. She enjoyed growing up with her siblings and her large extended family of cousins and going on frequent family visits each year, which meant either family coming to Russell or going to Marshalltown or Newton.
She attended Russell High School and graduated in the Class of 1962. She played softball for four years but was sad that a heart murmur prevented her from playing basketball and other sports. She always remembered her senior class trip to Chicago with her friends and how much she enjoyed going to Chicago to tour the city and going to the movies.
At one time she worked at Gino’s Restaurant in Des Moines in the 1960’s and it was then that her first greatest joy came into her life, her son Michael was born. In the early 1970s she and her son moved to Chariton with the family and lived at 527 North Main street, across the street from the Chariton High School. She worked as a baker at the Quality-T Bakery on the Chariton Square, before becoming a cook and lunch lady at the Chariton School District for over 30 years. She loved working for the school, the friends she worked with, and being around generations of kids at the Chariton School District, serving lunch each day at Garfield Junior High or the High School. Her family always lived across the street from the high school, and their home was always open to everyone, and it was routine in the 1980s for the high school kids to go to their home for lunch periods; all were welcomed, the doors were never locked. Gelene was a hard worker and always had two jobs. For decades she would work eight hours in the morning, come home and change and work another eight hours in the evening. She was a cook at the Country Chef Restaurant for years, and eventually at the Lucas County Hospital before retiring. She never had a car and didn’t drive but was extremely grateful to the hundreds of friends and family who gave her rides around Chariton for decades.
In her spare time, she was always sewing, coloring/painting, or making art/craft projects, or just reading volumes of books. Her home was always decorated for holidays, especially Christmas and most of the decorations and ornaments were handmade by her. She always saw the beauty in the world, in the simplest things; she would be the first to plant a pink flamingo in the yard and there were always toys and games to be found at her side, because life should include Cotton Candy. She was also a lifelong Chariton and Russell supporter, and an Iowa Hawkeye fan. She was known to always be watching a football or basketball game on television while sewing or doing crafts. She was a huge Iowa Hawkeye fan, especially when her son Michael was playing on the Iowa Hawkeye Football team in the 1980s and 1990s and was thrilled to be attending home games at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City.
After retiring, few loved retirement more than Gelene. At 62 years old, she became determined to get her learner's permit and eventually her driver's license, which she did, and was able to purchase her first car at 64 years old. The timing was perfect because it coincided with the arrival of her most prized joy in her life, her granddaughters Josephine and Holiday. Gelene moved to Kansas City for almost 10 years and lived with her son, and wife Leah, and granddaughter Josephine Ruby, who was her best friend, who she got to see grow and spent every day and night with. Grandma Gelene went from never driving to rapidly learning to drive Josephine to her Ballet Classes at the Kansas City Ballet, or just their daily trips to the library or other events. As her health declined, she moved back to Chariton in 2020, to Southgate Apartments where she enjoyed her time with the ladies of the building. When Josephine graduated in 2023 as the Missouri Scout of the Year, a Gold Awardee, and a top Beering Scholar, no one was prouder than Grandma.
As a child, Gelene suffered from intense bullying at the hands of a teacher in the 1950s, and that formed her identity in which she wanted nothing but kindness for everyone. Seeing anyone being unkind or seeing anyone experiencing unkindness was something that deeply troubled her and she went out of her way to take care of people or to befriend everyone. She was an amazing gift giver, even though she was always of low-income status, she gave anything she had to others, her son experienced amazing Christmases, and her granddaughters always received amazing birthday and Christmas presents. Most importantly, she gave everyone the one thing she could and that was her time and attention. She was generous, selfless, and fiercely independent- she always gave selflessly of her time, always put others first, especially her family, and she actually would walk in the snow to a job that didn’t pay much and work two jobs to take care of her child, and the same with her grandchild.
She is survived by her son, Michael D. Sibert (Leah), of Lee’s Summit, MO & New Orleans, LA, and Granddaughters Josephine Ruby Sibert and Holiday Fagan. Her sister Marcia Clark and Jim Porterfield, Chariton, Iowa her brother (Earl) Dale Sibert Jr, Okmulgee, OK. Her nieces, Karmel Kemper (John), Tonya Clark (Thad Tracy), Shelley Sibert Deeringer (Randy Thompson), Sherry Kistler (Travis) and Shannon Sibert-Kimmel (Joe). Her Nephew Brian Sibert (Connie). A lot of Cousins, Grandnieces, Grandnephews, dear friends, and extended family.
She is Preceded in death by her parents: Earl and Gladys Sibert, a brother: Gary Sibert & Wife Pamela Amos Sibert, her sister Verdella Sibert Phipps and husband Charles "Bud" Phipps and her sister-in-law Sharon (Hudson) Sibert and her nephew: John Dale Clark.
Her family is eternally grateful to everyone who ever helped her or were simply her friends and expressed their love. Charitable contributions.
Sunday, March 23, 2025
2:00PM - 4:00PM
Pierschbacher Funeral Homes - Chariton
914 Roland Ave.
Chariton, IA 50049
Monday, March 24, 2025
10:30AM
