LaNell Jane Brandes, 82, of Waterloo, Iowa, passed away Sunday, June 28, 2026 with her loving family by her side.
LaNell Jane Bailey was born April 5, 1944 in Belmond, Iowa, the daughter of Edwin and Edna (Hansen) Bailey. She graduated in 1962 from Belmond High School. Following graduation, LaNell went on to obtain her Associates degree in Music from Waldorf College in Forest City, Iowa, and her Bachelor’s degree as a Music Major from Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. Professor Odvin Hagen, her choir director at Waldorf, called her his “first violin”, with her beautiful, high-soprano voice. She joyfully toured Europe with the Wartburg choir, led by Dr. Edwin Liemohn. She enjoyed working the summer of ‘62 in Yellowstone with her best friend/choir roommate, Jacqie, and she even entered a Miss Yellowstone beauty pageant there. Her talent was singing and Jacqie accompanied her. She met the love of her life, John (whom she’d spend the next 58 years with) in Dr. Alfred Haefner’s Greek class at Wartburg.
On June 1st, 1968, LaNell was united in marriage to John Brandes at the Congregational Church in Rowan, Iowa, making their home in Thornton and later moving to the Brandes farm. From this union, the couple were blessed with two daughters: Alyssa and Linda. LaNell had many passions in her life, such as gardening and canning different fruits and veggies, “you-pick-your-own strawberries”, she loved her free-range chickens, and you could even find her behind the wheel of the tractor out in the fields. Even as a child, she loved the farm. In the process of milking a cow once, it got spooked & leapt forward, which gave her a good scare. But she worked up the courage to go back and get right back under that cow to finish the job. She loved her job in produce with Kurtt’s Jack & Jill in Denver, Iowa.
LaNell was a dedicated music teacher, first with Meservey-Thornton School and later with Christian Heritage School in Cedar Falls, Iowa. She was the church organist/pianist for St. Paul’s country church and Denver Baptist Church where she was one of the founding members…. there for the official ground-breaking. She taught piano lessons to many. She led musicals like Down by the Creekbank, VBS Bound for the Arctic Challenge & wrote puppet shows for LTC. She was a gifted seamstress, making many outfits for her girls. She loved to paint. One special piece was for her father, depicting two kids fishing at a farm pond. She actually used one of her dad’s hairs to make a straight fishing line. She collaborated with Jay Keller to beautifully illustrate his book, “Look up, what do I See?”. She designed a life-sized playhouse for the girls, a gazebo and a deck to the house. Her biggest accomplishment was LaNell’s Dolls, the family business. At last count, they numbered over 29,000. These dolls traveled around the world, due in part to the huge Gatlinburg Craftsman’s Fair, the Florida State Fair and the World Ag Expo in the Amanas. She loved to do so many things, but her main passion in life was serving God, by never wasting a single talent that she was blessed with. She will be forever missed by those who had the honor of knowing such a beautiful lady. To know her was to be her friend.
Left to cherish her memory are her husband, John Brandes; two daughters: Alyssa (Brad) Hamlyn, Linda (Jeremy Stone) Brandes and Dawn VanHeiden; four grandchildren: Isabelle, Darren, Joshua and Caleb; one brother: Alvin (Becky) Bailey; two nieces: Annie and Kitty; one nephew: Shane; and her four-legged furry friend “Bubba Gin”, her precious cat.
She is preceded in death by her parents: Edwin and Edna Bailey; and one brother & sister-in-law: Lynn (Gail) Bailey.
All obituary information has been taken from the funeral home, newspaper or other online resource.
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