Toni Pickering
August 26, 1943 ~ August 22, 2020
Antonette 'Toni' Pickering, 76, of Cedar Rapids, passed away Saturday, August 22, 2020. Private Family Celebration of Life Service: 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, August 26, 2020, by Celebrant Dawn Stephens, at Stewart Baxter Funeral & Memorial Services, Cedar Rapids. Friends and extended family are invited to watch the services via livestream on Facebook. Search for and join the Remembering Toni Pickering Facebook group for more information. Inurnment: Lafayette Cemetery, rural Alburnett.
Survivors include her children, James Paul Pickering (Kevin Phillips), Samuel 'Pick' (Samantha) Pickering, Pippin (Carolyn) Pickering, Aerin (Nate) Freno, Kenley (MaryBeth) Pickering, Kerrin 'KK' (Sam) Magu, and Elen 'ET' Pickering; and 10 grandchildren.
Antonette Elizabeth Kirchner was born August 26, 1943, in Cedar Rapids, to James and Pauline (Reznicek) Kirchner. She earned her Master's Degree at Coe College in 1966. She met James Pickering at Coe, after participating in an experiment he was conducting. She skewed the results, they were married, and the rest is history. She was a full-time mother, caring for their seven children, attending their events, and supporting them through their activities. Though she didn't drive (except for the rare emergency), she knew all of the bus drivers' names and was spot-on in timing the bus routes.
Toni was a spiritual, kind, and peaceful person who enjoyed meditation and different aspects of some formal religions, though never claimed a specific one. She enjoyed volunteering her time helping women and children with PATCH and the Madge Phillips Center. Toni worked in customer service for a period for Frontier Global and later Alliant Energy. She was a sincere fan of Janis Joplin, was a talented and creative poet, and enjoyed reading poetry, especially Emerson.
She was preceded in death by her parents; husband of over fifty years, Jim; her Babi; and Aunt Rose.
In memory of Toni, her family asks that you pay a kind gesture forward or volunteer your time to someone in need.
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So sorry to hear of Toni’s passing. We were neighbors across the street of our very special neighbors, and your dear in-laws, Paul and Anne Pickering. Our condolences and Love to the family and friends. Loras and Dorothy Steffen.