Marcia Bachmann

Marcia Lucile Bachmann, 75, of Denison, lost her life in a car accident on Aug. 14, 2026.

Marcia was born at Crawford County Memorial Hospital on Feb. 27, 1951, the fourth of eight children. She attended Denison public schools, where, under the tutelage of her big brother Bruce, she skipped 1st grade and graduated in 1968. She went on to attend the University of Iowa, earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology, although she was so artistically talented that she could have majored in the fine arts, often sending sketches to her younger siblings still at home.

Ever inquisitive, Marcia took an auto mechanics course in high school “just out of curiosity”; during her college years, she traveled to Czechoslovakia on an exchange program; and after college moved to Provo, Utah, with her good friend Rebecca to see another part of the country.

Eventually, she returned to her beloved Crawford County, where she met and married Richard Meyer in 1979. They remained married until his death in 2025, frequently traveling to visit family members around the country and vacationing in Mexico.

Marcia devoted much of her time to service in the community. She held offices on the County Fair Board, the Friends of the Library and Kiwanis/Golden K. She was the chair of the Crawford County Democrats for several years and was instrumental in coordinating Barack Obama’s visit to Denison in 2007.

She was passionate about nature and gardening and was often in the woods hunting mushrooms and wildflowers, or establishing new plantings, like ginseng. The gardens around her and Richard’s acreage flourished. Many locals still remember the pick-your-own strawberry patch they operated in the late 1980s. She also enjoyed quilting – a hobby she shared with her big sister Janet – and created dozens of beautiful quilts, many of which she generously gave to friends and family.

But Marcia would be the first to admit that her greatest love was of animals. From a young age, she was seldom seen without an animal companion, whether a cat, rabbit, aquarium fish, cow or horse. Over the years, she raised chickens, guinea fowl, peacocks, sheep, goats, donkeys, dogs and cats … lots of cats. Some of the most memorable pet names included Baa-Baa the sheep, Riki Sky Blue Demon Squint Eastwood Bachmann the Siamese cat and Woody the horse. She also showed compassion for wild animals, feeding the birds and deer and taking in errant or injured squirrels, possums and raccoons.

She dreamed of building a cat shelter in Crawford County to provide safe haven and adoption options for the overpopulation of stray cats in the area. In 2022, she fulfilled that dream by purchasing a former veterinary clinic and founding CCHappyCats, the only such shelter in the county.

The world will miss Marcia’s empathy for all living things, her creativity, curiosity, quick laugh and sarcastic humor.

Marcia was preceded in death by her parents, Ralph and Juanita Bachmann; sister, Nora (Bachmann) Bretey; and nephew, Scott Bachmann. She is survived by six siblings: Janet Bachmann (Jim Lukens) of Fayetteville, AR, Thomas Bachmann (Gloria) of Las Cruces, NM, Bruce Bachmann (Nancy Sauerman) of Cedar Rapids, Brian Bachmann (Georgia Heald) of Iowa City, Andrea (Bachmann) Kaitany (Richard Kaitany) of Iten, Kenya and Sylvia Bachmann (Hugh Gilpatric) of New Bedford, MA; nieces: Rachel Bachmann, Tasha Stimson, Jerotich Kaitany and Jelimo Kaitany; and nephews: Boris Bachmann, David Bachmann, Jordan Bretey, Devon Bretey, Kipchumba Kaitany, Reuben Bretey, Kibor Kaitany and Benjamin Bretey.

A celebration of Marcia’s life will be held on Saturday, Sept. 12 at a location TBD. If you would like to submit a memory, photo, etc. to be displayed, please email it to: MarciaLBachmannMemories@gmail.com before Sept. 1.