In Memory of Averill "Tagg" Ann Kitterman

Averill Ann “Tagg” Kitterman passed away peacefully on November 7, 2017 at Willow Dale Care Center in Battle Creek, Iowa.

Private services and inurnment will be held at a later date under the direction of Christensen-VanHouten Funeral Homes of Ida Grove.

Averill was born in Sioux City, Iowa on March 21, 1922 to Myrtle P. (Lawrence) and Elwyn S. Tagg.  She spent her early years in Sioux City with her parents and siblings, Muriel, Larry, and Berton, and graduated from Central High School with the mid-year class of 1940.  Averill continued her post-high school education at Methodist School of Nursing, graduating from there in 1943, after which she worked in the medical office of Dr. J. D. Lutton.

In 1945, when Harry Kitterman II of Schaller, Iowa returned from 4 years in the ETO/WWII, he met Averill and was immediately smitten.  They married on January 01, 1946.  They settled in Arthur, Iowa where they opened the Arthur Locker Service together with Harry’s sister and husband, Blanche and Ken Carney.

Averill and Harry raised three loving children, who remain always grateful to their parents for the solid, simple, respectful upbringing provided for them, with a definite emphasis on education and music.  Those children are Marianne (Tom) Fuchsen of Spencer, Iowa; Jo Ellen (Robert) Hayes of Battle Creek, Iowa; and, Harry Nathan “Nate” Kitterman III (Pam) of Sycamore, Illinois.

After helping Harry in the locker business and raising the children, Averill took a position as secretary at the Odebolt-Arthur Middle School, where she worked until age 83, when the building was closed and she “had” to retire.  To this day, many a former school student would visit “The Lunch Lady.”  Averill spent 10 years as a loving caregiver to Harry, who passed away in 2001 from Parkinson’s Disease.  In her retirement and following Harry’s death, she volunteered many hours at the Arthur Public Library.

Averill was a lifetime member of the Arthur Methodist Church until its closing in 2015, after which she became a member of the United Methodist Church of Ida Grove.  She was a lifetime member of the Order of Eastern Star.

Left to cherish her memory are Marianne and Tom and their three children:  Nicole and Todd Thomas and great granddaughters Noel, Natalie, and Ella; Ben and Stephanie Fuchsen; and Sarah Fuchsen and great granddaughters Samantha and Lily; Jo Ellen and Bob and their three daughters:  Abigail and George Barnes IV and great-grandson George V; Amanda Hayes; and, Annie and Jeff Hultgren; and Nate and Pam and their three children:  Josh, Emily, and Allison; also, her brothers Berton (Shirley) Tagg and Larry Tagg, and brother-in-law Ken (Bonnie) Kitterman, as well as several nieces and nephews and many dear friends and neighbors.  Averill was preceded in death by Harry; Harry’s sister and husband Blanche and Ken Carney; her sister and husband Muriel and Phil Jolin; and her brother Larry’s wife Donna Tagg.

Memorials to Averill will be directed to the Arthur Public Library.