Madonna Joy Magee

Madonna Joy (Viers) Magee, 98 of Topeka, died November 6, 2016 at home. She was born In Shelby, Ohio on February 10, 1918. Madonna was the loving mother of Frank, Barbara, Steve, Susan, Brenda and Ruth, a devoted grandmother, great-grandmother, great-great-grandmother and a sister to Harold Viers.

She trained at Mercy Hospital in Toledo, Ohio as a registered nurse and served aboard the hospital ship SS Tasman during WWII in Australia and the South Pacific. She was a valued member of Memorial Hospital cardiac unit in Topeka.

A Celebration of Madonna's life will be held on Saturday, November 12, 2016 at Dove Cremation & Funeral Service from 2-4PM.

As Barbara lovingly wrote: My Mum the adventurer... I'm remembering a little women full of energy and common sense. When she applied for nursing school without required background subjects, she charmed the nuns, got admitted, and proved she had the right "stuff". After graduating, she marched off to the army recruiting center and had to eat a banana and drink water to meet the minimum required weight. Once in uniform, she sailed to Australia where she rode the trams around Melbourne by herself, discovered Gorgonzola cheese and found a little chemist shop selling Shalimar perfume, certainly a war time treat just waiting to be discovered. Then she put her hand up to nurse the wounded on a hospital ship traveling between the Pacific Islands and Australia, why not? Even meeting my father was an adventure; a blind date rowing around the Pacific in a dingy off the big ship.

Later she found the energy to prepare meals for six kids, keep us in clean clothes and cart us off to brownies, cub scouts, skating, swimming, dancing classes, band practice and concerts. The great adventure was that she had to learn to drive before she could be the chauffeur.

When life got tough, she got going; back to refresher school to retrain as a registered nurse. Surely a frightening business after twenty years as a stay-at-home mum. Then, to keep the remaining family together, she found a rental house and shifted. At the same time, she joined the Memorial Hospital team where she worked full time night shifts using all new equipment and techniques. She always did what needed to be done, always.

After retirement, she and her sister (my favorite Aunt Maryann) visited me in Australia...probably her last big adventure. We had a great time seeing everything Adelaide had to offer. They also watered my reluctant grass until it greened and helped entertain my three year old son. I loved having them visit and they had precious "sister" time.

Over her 98 years, Mum had many challenging times. One of the most devastating was when my sister Susan died of cancer; she lost a precious daughter and she watched while Susan's four beautiful, young children struggled with uncertain futures. I know she did everything she could to help, but she always regretted that she couldn't do more.

I think my mum had a good life. Always ready for a challenge, always doing the best she could, always up for a new adventure.