Isabel S. McQueen, second daughter of James Russell and Mabel Clare Swisher McQueen, was born January 14, 1919, at the family farm in Locust Grove Township and died June 7, 2016. She attended the Locust Grove rural school, was involved in 4-H during her teen years, and graduated from Northboro High School in 1937, excelling in music, sports and academics. She earned her diploma in Cosmetology from Brown's Beauty Academy in Council Bluffs in 1938 and was employed in several local shops for the next ten years, mainly Borland's Beauty Shop for eight years. In the 1970's she also worked for the Farmer's Co-op as an accountant. On October 4, 1938, she and Dale Spears were married in Maryville, Missouri, after which they made their home on the newly purchased Wolford farm south of Shenandoah. This was the residence for the entire sixty-six years of their marriage.

Isabel joined the Locust Grove Church at an early age, later transferring to the Shenandoah Congregational Church where she was a long-time Sunday school teacher and serving in other capacities as well. She was a two-time Cub Scout den mother, served on the Koral Board and the American Field Service Committee, was a member of the Congregational UCC fellowship, Fairview Social Club, and was an enthusiastic member of the Home and Garden Club.

Isabel had many interests in the art world including oil and watercolor painting; creative stained glass; and growing, preserving and arranging flowers. She constructed dollhouses, furnishing and decorating them. Her first love was piano music. She played from early childhood and loved arranging. She often said she played her piano every morning just to get her started.

Dale and Isabel treasured their years of life on the farm and there they raised their two sons, Sam and Roger. In 1970, the family was forced to give up their beloved farm home to highway construction. They opted to build a replacement on the same farm in an adjacent location and Isabel spent many hours designing her dream home which they occupied for more than thirty
years. Isabel would say her top priorities were family first, her church, dear friends, the farm and beautiful music.

In their retirement years, she and Dale traveled to Alaska, New England and many other points of interest in the Continental United States as well as twice to Hawaii, Cancun, and Guatemala while also enjoying three Caribbean cruises.
Retirement winters were spent in Texas and Florida, returning to the Iowa farm each spring.

Isabel was preceded in death by her husband Dale and their elder son, Sam in 2005; also by her parents; sisters Jean McQueen Scotton and Russine McQueen
Evans; brother Bud McQueen and daughter-in-law Brooke Spears. She is survived by son Roger and family, Julianne and grandchildren Tracy and Dillon of Raleigh, North Carolina; sister-in-law Lois McQueen; two nieces; seven nephews and other relatives and friends.

Memorials may be directed to the First Congregational Church UCC of Shenandoah,