A mass for Lena Faye Kemper, 86, of Lucas, will be held on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church at 10:30 a.m. A rosary will be held prior to the service starting at 10:00 a.m. at the church.
A visitation will be held on Saturday, October 10, 2026, at the Pierschbacher Funeral Home in Chariton from 10:00 a.m. till 12:00 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in care of the family to be designated at a later date.
Lena Faye Kemper was born February 28, 1940, at home in Mercer County, Missouri, to Orville and Olive (Wells) Stark. She grew up near Mercer, alongside her 11 siblings, learning early the importance of family, faith, hard work, and of course a good joke with lots of laughter—things that remained important to her throughout her life. Lena received the nickname, Tater, at a young age from her brother and from then on became known as Tater. Tater attended an old schoolhouse several miles from her house and she would walk those several miles in rain, sleet, snow, hurricanes, and the hot summer sun, according to Tater. She enjoyed kicking the can down the road, visiting with her neighbors (Joe), a good laugh from a joke, and soaking up the warm sunshine.
In November of 1958, Tater married Marvin ‘Marv’ John Kemper in Stuart, Iowa. They spent many years living in different states before planting their roots in Lucas, Iowa. Tater worked outside the home for a number of years, she was a supervisor at Lucas Products and later at Siemens Manufacturing, and then worked at the Indianola Wal-Mart for 10 years beginning in 2002. Tater loved picking up an ice cream cone from Dairy Queen with her grandchildren after a shift at Wal-Mart.
Tater was a woman of strong faith and a longtime member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Family was just as important. She loved having everyone together, and Christmas was especially meaningful to her. Sunday and Wednesday family meals, time spent teaching her grandchildren cooking and baking recipes, and an occasional food fight. With a large family, there was rarely a dull moment. She loved making her weekly Wednesday errand run and picking up each of her grandchildren to tag along with the chance of winning big on a scratch off lottery ticket. Tater was an Elvis Presley fan and she would often put on one of his records to sing and dance along to.
As the years passed and her family grew to include grandchildren and great-grandchildren, those times together became even more special, as she enjoyed the branches of her family tree getting stronger and larger every year. Her faith guided her, her family surrounded her, and both remained at the heart of her life.
Tater is survived by her children, Lorrie (Michael) Kinser, Marva Kemper, John (Karmel) Kemper, and Mary (Jeff) Grismore; 15 grandchildren: Joe (Chelsea), Ashley (Bruce), Alex (Joel), Olivia (Silu), Jamiee (Shawn), Megan (Chad), Dylan (Ashley), Alissa (Hawk), Emily (Brock), Ben (Anna), Dalton (Taylor), Zach (Caroline), Trinity (Alex), Dominick, Dawson, 23 great-grandchildren: Trevin, Emerson, Abel, Jace, Ainsley, Adrienne, Alysyn, Aria, Heather, Kyewah, Shoshonne, Ottawah, Lyla, Jayce, Payton, David, Aalyah, Kamron, Harper, Declann, Nathan, Bristol, and Watson; her dog, Presley, along with many nieces, nephews, extended relatives, and friends.
Tater passed away October 6, 2026, surrounded by her family. She was preceded in death by her husband, Marvin ‘Marv’ John Kemper; dog, Elvis, and siblings: Orville, Everett, Wendall, Junior, Jim, Jerry, Doris, Ocie, Janice, Tuffet (Velma), and Ordie.
