Brenda Leigh Carper, 62, of Manchester, Iowa, passed away on Tuesday, February 7, 2023. She was born on December 25, 1960, the daughter of Francis Junior Murray and Minnie Maybell (Cornwall) Murray in Dubuque. Brenda was the sixth of twelve children. Brenda was raised and educated in Dubuque until the family moved to Manchester, where Brenda attended West Delaware High School. The Murrays were a very close and loving family. After graduation Brenda moved to California. On August 14, 1982, Brenda married her best friend, Allen Dwain Carper in California. They have five children that they affectionately called the A team. They were married for forty years. The family moved back to Manchester in 1991. Brenda worked at Casey’s for a short while until stopping to raise her family. In 2005 she went back to work at Caseys in Dyersville until 2018. In the spring of 2022, Brenda was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). Sadly, she succumbed to pneumonia and as a result she died at St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids around 5 p.m. on February 7, 2023.
Brenda loved spending time with her family, playing cards, board games, puzzles, crosswords, and word searches, but what she loved most was being with her family especially her grandchildren. Brenda was greatly loved and will be dearly missed.
Survivors include her husband, Allen Carper of Dyersville; her five children, Angel (Ryan) Long of Dyersville, Amanda (Brian) Dudrey of Cedar Rapids, Anthony Carper of California, Ashley (John) Cahill of Texas, and Allen (Cari) Carper, II of Colesburg; stepdaughter, Monique Crosby of Eureka, California; her mother-in-law, Kay Hodges of Eureka, California; her 11 grandchildren, Logan, Landon, Atton, and Ryla Long, Amelia Carper, Dacia and Jackson Cahill, Drake, Xoey, Xabella, and Xander Carper; her eight siblings, Sandra Murray of Cedar Rapids, Shirley (Richard) Kenny of Ryan, Marilyn (Chuck) Jones of Manchester, Betty (Larry) Hicks both of Manchester, Joyce
(Greg) Trey of Strawberry Point, Bill (Joann) Murray of Ryan, Mike (Kelley) Murray of Marion, Pat (Tanya) Murray of Manchester; her sisters-in-law, Vicky Murray of Dubuque, and Kimberly Murray of Manchester; four grandpuppies, Xena, Hotch, and Olivia Dudrey, and Maya Carper; and many nieces and nephews.
Brenda was preceded in death by her parents, Francis and Minnie Maybell Murray; her three brothers, David, Franklin, and Robert Murray; and her father-in-law, David Hodges.
Online condolences may be sent to www.leonard-mullerfh.com. Celebration of Life: 2:00 to 6:00 p.m., Sunday, February 12, 2023, at the Delaware County Fairgrounds Community Center in Manchester, Iowa.
