Memorial
Sheila King, 57, of Marion, Iowa passed away Sunday, February 11, 2024, after a courageous 4+ year battle with stage IV colon cancer. She was a warrior with a golden heart whose determination, optimism, and faith inspired many throughout her fight. A visitation will be held on Friday, February 16th from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM at the Cedar Memorial Chapel of Memories Stateroom. A Memorial Mass will take place on Saturday, February 17th, and begin at 10:30 AM at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Marion. Immediately following the memorial mass, the family will host a gathering of friends & family to celebrate Sheila’s life at Kingston’s Steakhouse Venue & Event Space until 2:30 PM. We invite friends and colleagues to join the family to celebrate the dynamic person she was.
Sheila was born in Indiana, attended undergrad at University of Southern Indiana (USI) and obtained her master’s degree at Bowling Green State University in Ohio (where she and Rich met). Her first job was with The Ohio State University (Mansfield campus) as Director of Student Activities. Her next role brought her to Iowa, at The University of Iowa as Director of Student Activities. She then went onto work at McLeodUSA for a number of years where Rich and Sheila had an opportunity to move around the country and made homes in Denver, Colorado; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Tulsa, Oklahoma. Sheila then stepped aside to take on one of her greatest roles, full-time mother. During this time, she also embarked on a journey with Mary Kay Cosmetics where she made lifelong friends and embraced their core values of God #1, Family #2 and Work #3. Rich and Sheila eventually made it back to Iowa where she then pursued a career in real-estate in early 2010. Sheila quickly positioned herself as one of the top residential agents in the market. She loved being a Skogman realtor, took great pride in her work and especially loved helping people. Sheila served as past Board President of the Cedar Rapids Area Association of Realtors and was recently honored as realtor of the year for 2023.
Beyond her great love of being a realtor, she was all about family. “Ma-Ma Bear” as she was called, adored her kids, and supported them in anything and everything they did and constantly gleamed with pride on their accomplishments and the fine young adults they have become. Traveling with Rich was another passion. Typically, this time of year you would find them (with their great friends Jim & Chris) on a cruise, in Key West or Fort Myers Beach to escape the Iowa winter. Come fall-time, Sedona, AZ was a great escape for them as she loved the gorgeous rock formations and embraced the tranquility of it all.
Sheila was an organ donor, and we learned her corneas were used to help two separate individuals restore their sight. This has a special meaning for the family given her son, Josh, is vison impaired and considered legally blind.
She is survived by her husband, of twenty-nine years, Rich; children, Josh (of Chicago) and Lexi (Junior at Marquette); mother, Vonda Leistner; siblings, Brad and Doug Leistner, and Joni Miller; father and mother in-law, Don and Rita King; brothers-in-law, Mike, Dan, and Rob (Cheri) King.
She was preceded in death by her father, Alfred Leistner.
The family would like to extend a special thanks to Dr. Ghosh, Mindy Martin and the Marengo Hospital Oncology team for their love, support, and treatment for Sheila over the years.