Iva Oden

March 9, 1927 - November 4, 2018

Iva M. Oden, gardener extraordinaire, lover of music, amateur karaoke singer, wonderful cook, famous beauty (with very few wrinkles) and fashionista, passed away peacefully at her home on Sunday, November 4, 2018. She was born to Charles and Ruby (Ralph) Persle, and lived most of her life in the Apple Grove community of Morgan County. You’ll have to guess her age as she adamantly instructed her children NOT to print her birth date. She was married to Ellie “Red” Oden and, together, they raised five children on their farm. After Red’s death, she and her youngest daughter, Rita, “took the reins”, and together ran the chicken and cattle farm for 39 years. She won several poultry grower awards over the years and her farm, known widely for its beauty, was always a source of pride. Music was a lifelong joy and she loved to listen, dance and sing. She hosted “The Cave” music park every summer from 1980 to 1985 where as many as 300 people came on Friday nights to listen to the band and dance. For the last 9 years, she hosted the Oden Family and Friends picnic every June where family, friends and neighbors enjoyed a day of music, food, fellowship and fireworks at the beautiful Skidmore Cave. Some scenes from the movie “Tom and Huck” were filmed on site at the cave. She was even an extra in the movie and if you can still find it, you can see her in several scenes. Unfortunately, she never got her “big break” in “the movies” and had to be satisfied with being locally famous for her biting wit and strong will. She loved cardinals, hated squirrels and tolerated a loud frog because she thought he was cute. She fostered too many dogs to remember and shared her home, for several years, with her precious Jack Russell Terrier, Maggie. Throughout her long life she loved, laughed and cried, she worked, she traveled, she shopped, she gardened, she sang, she danced and was loved by too many to count. She is survived by four children, Iva Nell Douglass of Arab, John L. (Ruby) Oden of the Apple Grove Community, Carolyn J. (John) Toney of Somerville, Rita A. (David) Harvell of the Apple Grove Community and her close friend Harvey Kirby, whom she considered her “third son”. Nine grandchildren, Lawana Brockwell, Tracy Thompson, Shannon Thompson, Charles “Chuck” Oden, Cathy Childers, Jason Day, Leslie Schultz, Alan Oden and Amy Allen. Thirteen great grandchildren and one great-great grandson. She is preceded in death by her Husband, Ellie “Red” Oden;, her beloved son, Charles E. Oden; parents, Charles and Ruby Persle; her brother Charles “Buddy” Persle and six infant siblings. Funeral service will be 1:00 p.m. Friday, November 9, 2018 at Gober Funeral Chapel with Brother Glen Smallwood and Bro. Chuck Oden officiating. Burial will be in Forman Cemetery, Gober Funeral Chapel, directing. Pallbearers will be Robert Hill, Jammey Light, Michael Light, Mark Morrow, Stephen Ryan, Tracy Ryan and serving as Honorary Pallbearers will be her grandsons and Lawrence Curue, David Fuller and Harvey Kirby Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, November 8, 2018 at Gober Funeral Chapel.