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Obituary For Laura Lea "Carlson" McCrory
Laura Lea “Carlson” McCrory, age 85, passed away in Des Moines on Saturday, September 27, 2025. Laura was born on March 27, 1940, on her father’s birthday, in Trufant, MI, to Harold and Helen Ostrander. She grew up in Michigan with her older sister, Leone, and younger sister, Gloria.
A memorial service will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, October 3, 2025, at Memorial Services of Iowa (4208 N. Ankeny Blvd). Visitation will be held an hour prior to the service beginning at 2:00 p.m. Burial will take place at Ankeny Memorial Gardens.
She graduated from Lakeview High School in 1958 and later earned her Associate Degree at Des Moines Area Community College in Long-Term Care Administration. Laura’s career was in healthcare, serving as bookkeeper at Sunnyview Care Center in Ankeny, IA, as an administrator for the Altoona Nursing Home in Altoona, IA, and as a nurse aide, phlebotomist, and home health aide in Florida and Missouri.
Laura married her high school sweetheart, Carl E. Carlson, on February 8, 1958, and relocated many times until settling down in Ankeny, IA, in 1969 to raise their family. They were married 30 years and had many close friends and neighbors there. She moved to Urbandale in 1986 and then to Titusville, FL, following Carl’s unexpected death in 1992. While in Florida, she enjoyed traveling to all 50 states, volunteering, fishing, and doing genealogy research.
In 2003 she moved to Springfield, MO, where she met Larry McCrory, marrying him on March 21, 2004. Soon after they were married, they moved to Altoona, IA, where she spent her remaining years closer to family. She treasured her 21 years with Larry and their beloved standard poodles and cats. In retirement, Laura loved to cross-stitch, sew doll clothes, read, and play her word games and puzzles.
Laura is preceded in death by her mother; father; and sister, Leone. She is survived by her sister, Gloria Cole of Cedar Springs, MI; husband, Larry McCrory of Altoona, IA; four children, Ron (Deb) Carlson of Bondurant, IA, Brad Carlson of Clear Lake, CA, Jackie (Dave) Van Wyk of Piedmont, SC, and Lori (John) Card of Ankeny, IA; nine grandchildren; and ten (soon to be eleven) great-grandchildren.
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Joe Carlson sent Ocean Devotion for Laura Lea "Carlson" McCrory - September 29, 2025
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Thoughts and prayers are with you and your family Jackie. May your mother rest in peace.
She and her husband attended Simple Church for a time. We connected and shared our prayer requests and the fact that I worked with Lori and John. Her pain is now gone and enjoying meeting her Savior and Lord.
Grandma. Our grandmother, mother, and matriarch was a woman of wit and grace, always one step ahead of everyone. I will forever be grateful for the love and care she gave me and my sister when we were young. She welcomed us, nurtured us, and ensured I could see my father when others would not. For that, I respected her deeply. She truly was the glue that held the Carlson family together. As we remember her, I hope we can also be there for Larry, who now faces a loneliness few of us can fully understand.
