Vicki Trede Ealy Obituary, Death – Johnston, Iowa, Woman Remembered for Her Love of Family and Resilience
Vicki Lynn (Trede) Ealy, 77, of Johnston, Iowa, passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on March 26, 2024, at Edencrest at Beaverdale in Des Moines. Remembered for her strength, love of family and many personal interests, Vicki leaves behind a legacy cherished by her husband, daughters, sisters and extended family.
Born on April 19, 1946, in Davenport, Iowa, Vicki was the daughter of Woodrow and Dorothy (Behm) Trede. She was the third of four sisters and spent her childhood and early adult years in Davenport, where she worked at Iowa-Illinois Electric.
In 1981, Vicki met Philip Ealy, beginning a relationship that would become a lasting partnership. The couple married on January 19, 1982, on a particularly cold day filled with love and happiness. Phil had promised to show her the country, and together they lived in six different states while building their life and raising their two daughters, Megan and Amanda.
Family was at the center of Vicki’s life, alongside her love of music, reading, gardening and crafting. She approached life’s challenges with remarkable determination, navigating multiple moves, overcoming colon cancer and helping remodel an 1850s farmhouse. She also faced Alzheimer’s disease with the strength that had been a defining part of her life.
Vicki’s family remembers a woman whose interests and experiences reflected her resilience and appreciation for the people and activities that brought her happiness. Her life was shaped by the relationships she built, the home she created with Phil and the memories she shared with her daughters and loved ones.
She is survived by her husband, Philip Ealy; her daughters, Megan of Nixa, Missouri, and Amanda of Des Moines, Iowa; and her sisters, Dona Hendrickson of Grinnell, Iowa, and Gayle Trede of Mount Pleasant, Iowa. She also leaves behind several sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces and nephews.
Vicki was preceded in death by her parents, Woodrow and Dorothy Trede; her sister, Sandy Jamison; and her brother-in-law, Jack Hendrickson.
A memorial service was scheduled for 11 a.m. on Friday, March 29, 2024, at New Hope United Methodist Church in Des Moines. Inurnment was to follow at Glendale Cemetery in Des Moines.
Vicki Trede Ealy will be remembered for her devotion to her family, her perseverance through life’s challenges and the many simple joys that made her life meaningful. Her memory lives on through her husband, daughters, sisters and all those whose lives she touched.