White Funeral Home
400 First Street West
Independence, Iowa 50644

Independence – Lucille M. McGrath, 99 years old, of Independence, Iowa, passed away peacefully on Thursday, December 6, 2018, at Buchanan County HealthCenter in Independence, surrounded by her family.  She was born on January 26, 1919, in Sumner Township of Buchanan County, near Rowley, Iowa, the daughter of Frank A. and Ada Catherine (Smith) Kirsch.  She grew up near Rowley and graduated from Rowley High School with the Class of 1936.  OnNovember 6, 1940, she and Robert Michael McGrath were married at St Patrick’s Catholic Church in Winthrop.  They farmed and Mrs. McGrath also worked for 17 years at Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids.  She retired in 1985.  She was a member of St. John’s Catholic Church in Independence.

Mrs. McGrath is survived by one son, Gaylord (Della) McGrath of Coralville, Iowa, one daughter, LuAnn (Randy) Parrott of Manchester, Iowa, six grandchildren, and four great grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband (in April 1986), one son, Joseph F. McGrath (in November 1995), one brother, Raymond Kirsch, and three sisters, Genevieve Strang, Elizabeth Rhodes, and Mary Zieser.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, December 12, 2018, at St. John’s Catholic Church in Independence.  Rev. David Beckman will be the Celebrant.  Burial will be in St. John’s Cemetery in Independence.  Friends may call for visitation from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 11^th, at the White Funeral Home in Independence where a Parish Rosary begins at 3 p.m. and a Vigil Service begins at 6:30 p.m.