Trula Ann Ness

Trula Ann (Welker) Ness, 97, passed away in the early hours of Tuesday, May 12, 2026, in Marion, Iowa. She was born at home on the farm near Greenbriar, Missouri, on September 3, 1928, along with her twin sister, Eula, to Jacob and Effie Jane (Shrum) Welker. She graduated from Advance High School in Advance, Missouri, and attended Southeastern Missouri State at Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Northern Illinois University at DeKalb, Illinois, and Lutheran Bible Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota. On September 1, 1956, she married Russel M. Ness at Lisbon, Iowa.

She was one of a kind. At various points in her life she worked as a telephone operator, taught in a country school, provided child care, and worked as a bookkeeper. She was a Sunday School and VBS teacher, a “room mother”, a Girl Scout leader, and an active church volunteer. For several years she and a friend had a business baking and decorating cakes for birthdays, weddings and any other celebrations. She loved working in her flower gardens, enjoyed bowling and golf, and was always up for getting together with family and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her son, James Russel Ness; husband, Russel M. Ness; sisters, Fredia (Odell) Corbin, and Eula (Milton) Ward; all of Russel’s siblings, Lloyd Ness, Ruth (Larry) Fink, Bernice (Roy) Olin, Ken (Vernetta) Ness, Eleanor (Robert) Johnson, and Dorothy (Robert) Norman; several nieces and nephews; and many dear friends.

She is survived by her daughter, Susan (Dennis) Johnson; two grandsons, Eric of Ankeny, Iowa, and Luke of Marion; one sister-in-law, Barbara Ness of Naples, Florida; and many nieces and nephews.

This quote from Louisa May Alcott is fitting: “She could be a good bit of trouble, but it’s going to be a dull old world without her.”

A visitation will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday, May 15, 2026, at Murdoch Funeral Home & Cremation Service in Marion. There will be a brief graveside service and burial at Lisbon Cemetery, Lisbon, Illinois, on Saturday, May 16, 2026, at 1 p.m.

Memorials may be sent to the donor’s choice.

The family thanks the staff of Winslow House Care Center, Marion, for their kindness and care of Trula for the last four years. The family also thanks the staff of Suncrest Hospice for their compassionate service.