April 11, 1930 - August 22, 2023
Lois Lavonne Peck was born April 11, 1930, to Fred and Linda (Johnson) Bentele at their farm near Woden. She attended school at Woden, Britt and finished at lowa Lakes. She began working at Algona Livestock as a bookkeeper when her father owned the business and continued there until she was married. She also worked at the Colonial Inn Motel until it was destroyed by the tornado, where then she began working at the Burr Oak Motel.
Lois was united in marriage to Ronald C. Peck on Dec 20, 1981, at the home of a friend in Crystal Lake. She moved from Wesley and together they built the Ronald C. Peck Auction building at their home on S. Hall St. in Algona. Lois enjoyed being a partner with her husband, cleaning consignment items, setting up for sales, meeting people, clerking, and doing all the bookkeeping. Sales ran nearly every week, either on locations around the area or at the auction building where they held consignments. Lois also worked a few years for the Algona School System at the O.B. Laing Annex as a lunch lady where she greatly enjoyed meeting all the kids.
As the number of local auctions decreased, Ronnie and Lois traveled to Des Moines to do monthly car auctions for the city or Des Moines. Lois continued to clerk and work the car sales until 2015 and the consignment sales for a few years after that before her health forced her to retire from clerking. She continued doing Ronnies bookkeeping for sales until she took a fall and it was necessary for her to move into the Algona Manor in 2021.
Lois enjoyed all manner of handwork from crocheting (making many family names for wedding presents), refinishing furniture, stitching dolls and doll clothes, decorating wedding cakes and embroidery. She was also an accomplished seamstress and quilter completing around 15 quilts for family and another 15 quilt tops in the ten years before entering the rest home. Lois was an active member of the Wesley Evangelical Free church and the 4-H leader for the Wesley Wizards for many years.
Lois loved anything “purdee”. She enjoyed her flowers, collecting butterfly decorations and dolls and all kinds of animals. She and Ronnie shared the affection of a few dogs, namely Jake and Snoopy, along with a couple cats, Jump and Rags.
Lois Lavonne Peck, 93, of Algona passed away on Tuesday, Aug. 22 at KRHC.
Left to cherish Lois’ memory is her sister, Darline (Webster) Orton of Algona; brother, Donald Bentele of Des Moines; nieces, Becky Orton of Algona; Lori Bentele of Colorado Springs, Colo.; nephews, Arnold (Marium) Baker of Independence, Mo.; Scot (Terri) Orton of Mason City; Freddy Bentele of New Mexico; great-nieces and nephews, Nataniel Baker, Sarah (James) Kovac of Independence, Mo.; Natasha (Davis) Hunt of Ames; Jessica Orton of Ames; Anthony, Zeke, Ivy and Rylee Petty, Zach, Wyatt, Dalton and Dillon Orton of Mason City.
Lois is preceded in death by her parents, sister, Maxine (Bentele) Baker of Independence, Mo.; and her husband of 41 years, Ronald C. Peck of Algona on Aug. 23, 2022. Online condolences may be left at www.oakcrestfuneralservices.com