Maxine Beverly Group

Maxine Beverly (Bair) Group, age 81, of Prairie City, Iowa, passed away on November 14, 2023. A visitation for Maxine will be held at Coburn Funeral Home in Prairie City, Iowa, on Sunday, November 19, 2023, from 4:00 - 6:00 PM. A second visitation will be held at the Elizabeth Township Community Center (5760 Walnut Grove-Clark County Road), in Troy, Ohio, on Saturday, November 25, 2023, from 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM. Following the visitation, a luncheon will be served, and all are welcome to attend. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made out to the Alzheimer’s Association or the Prairie City Garden Club. Online condolences may be left at www.coburnfuneralhomes.com

The daughter of David Bair and Dorothy (Phlipot) Bair, Maxine was born on January 17, 1942, in Ohio. Maxine graduated from Miami East High School in the class of 1960. In 1963, she married her high school sweetheart, Jay Group. Maxine grew up on a farm with her parents and brother. In 1976 Maxine and Jay bought a farm and moved their family to Iowa. They farmed side by side and Maxine provided valuable insight. Jay was always proud to say that his wife could capably handle farm equipment with the best of them. She could drive a tractor, back in a trailer, and do anything that was asked of her without skipping a beat. After moving off the farm, they settled in Prairie City. Maxine worked at Iowa Methodist Hospital as a Unit Secretary for nearly 30 years. She loved her years working on Powell 5 and Younker 5 and took pride in the fact that she was the go-to person.

If you had to describe Maxine, you would use words like determined, force of nature, and short, so short that Jay always teased her about needing blocks to drive his pick-up truck. In her free time Maxine loved to garden, she was frequently seen tending to her flowers. Above all things, Maxine loved her family, especially her kids and grandkids. She would do anything for them, making sure they felt supported and cared for.

Those left to honor Maxine’s memory include her daughters; Milissa Group, Pam (Randy) Group, and Elizabeth (Brian) Watson, grandchildren; Damon Van Syoc, Krystyn Schiller, Jackson Holt, and Jay Watson, one great grandchild; Aurelia Retzlaff, a brother; Raymond (Phyllis) Bair, a sister-in-law; Dee Ann Rogers, her dear friend Shirley Wenthe, as well as many step grandchildren, step great grandchildren, nieces, and nephews.

Preceding Maxine in death were her parents and her husband, Jay.