Iona G. Mathis

Visitation for Iona Georgia Mathis (nee Wright), 95, of Lake Zurich, will be held Thursday, September 15, 2016 from 9:00 a.m. until the time of the Funeral Service, 11:00 a.m. at the Ahlgrim Family Funeral Home, 415 S. Buesching Road, Lake Zurich.

Iona was born January 4, 1921 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and passed away September 10, 2016 at her son’s home in McHenry, Illinois.

Iona was a lover of family and truly enjoyed her research in genealogy, she would go on for hours about family history.  She was very proud of the facts she found and was even interviewed and had an article placed in the Daily Herald in 2012 when she hosted a nationwide family reunion in Forest Lake.

She discovered she is related to Stephen Arnold Douglas who ran against Abraham Lincoln in the debates and also related to the founder of Sterling, IL even providing that town with information they did not have.  She also had a great fondness for and belief that she was a distant cousin to Queen Elizabeth II which she was in the process of trying to prove.

She was one of 10 children growing up during the depression.  She lived in Forest Lake since 1951 and raised 3 sons and a daughter which is a feat in itself.

She and her family history stories will be missed by many.

Survivors include her children, Frank (Emily) Mathis, Michael (Randi) Mathis, Jan (Jett) Meseke and Gary Mathis; grandchildren, Marie Wiatr, Marcella (Jeff) Baryl, and Amy (Brett) Fiebelkorn; great-grandmother of Bob, Samantha and Jesse Wiatr, Frank Ardito and Grace and Nicholas Fiebelkorn; Great-Great-Grandson, Jax Wiatr; sister, Betty (Pete) Cote.

Iona was preceded in death by her husband, Frank N. Mathis Sr., parents, George Hamilton and Flossie May (nee Douglas) Wright; grandchildren, Jerry Mathis and Sean Mathis; and eight brothers and sisters.

Memorials would be appreciated to JourneyCare, 405 Lake Zurich Rd., Barrington, IL 60010.