Imogene Mae Longstreth

Family and neighbors in Cedar Rapids mark the death of Imogene Mae Longstreth on June 19, 2017. She was 82. Born in Cedar Rapids on August 4, 1934; German-American cooking and payday thrift set the tone of the house. She grew up believing that showing up was the first craft. She clipped veneer that would hold other people's years. A veneer clipper knife sheath oiled was her preferred tool. Colleagues still mention a veneer clipper knife sheath oiled. She and Robert married in 1961 and raised two sons and a daughter without needing an audience. After Robert's death in 2010, she held to quiet habits—coffee before dawn, a tended yard, a voice on the phone that still checked in. Neighbors remember a rake leaned against a shared fence after a storm. She preferred the hour before a town fully wakes. Cedar Rapids was home enough that she never rehearsed an introduction. The garden will come up next spring without being told.