Eugenia "Genie" L. Eason

     Eugenia “Genie” Eason, age 60, of Scranton, Iowa, passed away on Friday, April 04, 2014 at Thomas Rest Haven in Coon Rapids, Iowa.        Funeral services will be held at 10:30 A.M. on Tuesday, April 8, 2014 at the United Methodist Church in Scranton with Rev. Lynn Gunderson officiating.  Friends may call at the Dahn and Woodhouse Funeral Home in Scranton from 5:00 – 7:00 P.M. on Monday.  The casket will be moved to the church at 8:30 A.M. on Tuesday where visitation will resume until the time of service.  Music for the service will be by Cheryl Nailor, Karne Murphy, and Bob Reck.  Burial will be in the Scranton Township Cemetery.   Casket bearers will be Mike Mullihan, Wendell Caulkins, Ken Caulkins, Terry Eason, Michael Bruns, Logan Opalinski, Phillip Eason, and Curt Eason.  Honorary casket bearers will be Genie’s friends and staff of Genesis Development.   In lieu of flowers the family suggests memorials be made to Genesis Development in Jefferson, Iowa, or to the Special Olympics and can be left to the funeral home or the church.      Eugenia (Genie) Lea Eason was born on January 23, 1954, to Wilbur Warren (Curly) and Helen A. (Caulkins) Eason of Scranton, Iowa.  In her 60 years of life, Genie was defined less by her Down Syndrome and more by her optimistic spirit and friendly nature.  She was a student in the first special education classes in Greene County and was a proud graduate of East Greene High School in 1974.  Genie was one of five young women who were the first employees of the newly established Greene County Sheltered Workshop when it opened in 1975. It soon became Genesis Development, and through the years Genie worked in the corrugated box manufacturing facility, the recycling center, the janitorial program, the laundry service for the Jefferson business community.  Genie also delivered the Jefferson Bee newspaper for several years. She was proud to be a productive member of her community and was honored for 35 years of employment in September 2010.     Genie loved being a Rainbow girl and was a member of the Scranton Order of Rainbow Girls.  She was a very loyal fan of the Scranton Trojan basketball teams and divided her loyalties equally between the Cyclones and the Hawkeyes as well.  She was a track and field participant in Special Olympics at the local, regional and state levels, and she bowled most of her adult life.  She lived in the Jefferson community for over 30 years and was most recently a resident of Thomas Rest Haven in Coon Rapids.  Genie loved music and movies, dancing and picnics.  Taking an interest in politics, she advocated for the rights of the disabled and never missed voting for an American president. Genie greeted everyone she knew warmly, and she loved and was loved by her friends and her family.   Genie is survived by her parents, her sisters Rebecca Opalinski of Parker, Colorado, Amy Bruns and brother-in-law, Michael Bruns of Natick, Massachusetts, and Carol Eason of Herndon, Virginia, and by her nieces, Rachel, Madeline and Elizabeth Bruns, Brooke Opalinski, and her nephew Logan Opalinski.  Genie was preceded in death by her grandparents.