Under the Water Tower Lovilia News

Ronnie Conner died June 28, 2010 after a long illness with bone cancer.  Ronnie was born May 16,1953.  He was raised by his father, Cecil, and his stepmother, Viola Conner.  His education was at Lovilia elementary and later high school at Albia, Iowa.  His life’s work was truck driving.  He is survived by his wife Rose of Albia and three daughters:  Katascha of Otley, Iowa; Katrina of Oskaloosa, Iowa, and Marnie of Colorado Springs, Colorado.  He has five grandchildren.  Burial was at Oakview cemetery in Albia.  A memorial to Monroe County Hospice was established in his honor.  He leaves behind many friends and relatives who will hold him in their memories and prayers.

James Drury, a young Irish American union soldier, returned home after the civil war to Vermont and married Jane Daugherty.  The newlyweds later moved to set up a farmstead in the Lovilia, Iowa area in 1869.  They were the only Catholics in the Lovilia area until the railroad came through and two Catholic men were employees, Patrick Ferris and Richard O”Brien.

These three families were the only Catholic ones until 1900.  In 1904 the bishop of our diocese at Davenport sent a 29 year old Irishman fresh out of seminary to Lovilia to set up a church at Weller and Lovilia.  Father Thomas Smyth decided his first task was to buy land for a rectory, a home for the priest to live in.  The same land our rectory is on today was purchased for $200.  The house was started in fall 1904 and finished the next spring.  One room of the house was set up as a chapel and mass was held there on Sundays and around 20 families were now in attendance.

Father Smyth then purchased land for the church next door to the rectory for a price of $165.  Contractors were Guthrie and Holst of Albia.  Cost to build the church was estimated at $10,000.  The cornerstone was laid on Oct. 9, 1910.  Work continued through the winter and was finally dedicated with a High mass on June 13, 1911.

After the mass, a picnic was held in the local park and a baseball game was played by the Weller and Lovilia parish men.

Lovilia is proud to have two young sons born and raised who became priests.  They are Walter Lenger and Allen Simpson.  Father Simpson also had the distinction of being the first black priest in the state of Iowa.  A third young man, Marion Durbala,  grew up on a farm a few miles from Lovilia.  He left home to work as a railway mail clerk to earn enough money to pay his way to go through the seminary.   He was ordained in 1927 and said his first mass in Lovilia  on Sunday, March 6th of that year.  He could speak four languages:  Bohemian, Croatian, Slovak, and English.  People would travel miles to hear him speak or hear their confession in their native tongue.

Beginning in 1930 young Lovilia women dedicated themselves to service to God  and his church by becoming religious sisters.  They were:  Clara Sofranko, Edna Feehan, Frances Papich, Jennie Mataya, Winifred McDonald, Marguerite Coady, Marguerite Nalevanko, Margaret Slofkosky and a former Lovilia girl,  Mary Lou Durbala.

Our special celebration and honored remembrance of those who worked so hard to establish our church will begin with mass at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, July 25, 2010.

At 11:30 a.m. we will have three choices for guests.  They may stay in the church for a history presentation of the beautiful stained glass windows or go to the cemetery for a presentation about five of our first families and our first priest.  You can go to the cemetery by horse drawn wagon or by driving your car.  Very unique and interesting stories that you will be amazed to hear.  the third choice is to go to the church hall for lunch.

The cemetery stories will be given three times as will the windows history.

We invite you to rotate to all three areas to celebrate and by the time you are done it will be time for the auction to begin at 1:30pm.  After the auction, raffle prizes will be drawn as the finale to our day.

Have fun, be well fed, learn some local history, worship, buy something or win a raffle prize.  Come on out to Lovilia July 25th and join us.!  Rain or shine.  If it rains, we will celebrate in the church and hall.