Marie, among many other things, was a wordsmith… always reaching for the uncommon, clever, or stylish in her choice of words. Interesting, then, to hear the words that others, both solicited and unsolicited, chose to describe her. Elegant. Dignified. Unflappable. Determined. Impish. Warm-Hearted.

Marie’s elegance and dignity were rooted in her upbringing. The oldest of five, Marie and her siblings were raised in a devout Catholic, and cultured lifestyle in Cedar Rapids, Iowa by their parents, Adrian Sylvester and Mary Henrietta (Dumback) Vermeersch. Marie’s interests in her youth included music, literature, dancing, horseback riding, and theater. After earning a teaching certificate at Mt. Mercy Academy in Cedar Rapids in 1943, Marie put some of her passion into practice as a Music and English teacher, and into her hobbies as a seamstress, church organist, and writer of journals, memoirs, and short stories. She had a rare style of her own… always snappily, even if casually, dressed, and ALWAYS accessorized.

Marie married Robert (Bob) Henry Ahrens on July 12, 1948. By his side, this unflappable woman raised nine children with grace and good humor, in Jewell, Iowa. The couple’s wide variety of pastimes ranged from theater and the fine arts to a good old game of Poker or Blackjack, and light-hearted foibles and laughs with friends. Marie and Bob faithfully enjoyed each other’s company, recapping the events of each day over a Happy Hour Manhattan or Old Fashioned. Her children benefitted from her talents as a seamstress, in the form of beautifully tailored outfits, prom dresses, or wedding dresses, as did the community when Marie fashioned costumes for high school musicals.

After Bob’s retirement in December 1983, they moved to Clear Lake, Iowa (the site of their honeymoon), to enjoy their (almost) empty nest on the lake. Their retirement was short-lived, however. Marie’s beloved Bob left her much too soon, in March 1994. In 2008, Marie was married to a rekindled old flame from the mid-1940s, Leonard (Dale) Brawner, and relocated to Fort Worth, Texas, where she remained until Dale’s death in December, 2012.

After Dale’s death, Marie chose Iowa City, Iowa as her home, enjoying the social activities and ease of living at Legacy Ridge Retirement Community. But in one of the sad ironies of life, this eloquent woman of words was slowly robbed of her vocabulary by a progressive aphasia.
After a brief illness, Marie spent her final days at The Bird House, Hospice Home of Johnson County, where she earned the adjectives Determined, Impish, and Warm-Hearted. Determined in that she was going to leave this world in her style, on her terms, and in her time. Impish in that underneath her struggle to express herself, one could still see her sense of humor and mischief. And Warm-Hearted as in the words of one of her caretakers, “I see her love for each of you shining through her confused days.” Marie passed peacefully at the Bird House early on November 27, with family and her faithful cat, Ruby, at her side.

Marie was preceded in death by her parents, husbands, and daughter, Gail, mother-in-law, Mary Ahrens and by her sisters-in-law, Joan Vermeersch, Marcy Vermeersch, and Norma Ahrens.