October 30, 1976 ~ December 6, 2025 (age 49)
Raelona Leigh Carey Burg, 49, of Oelwein, Iowa, passed away on Saturday, December 6, 2025, at her parents home in Nashua, Iowa.
Services will be held Saturday March 14th at New Hampton Methodist. 10:00 A. M. visitation, 11:00 A. M. service with a meal following the service. Hindt-Hudek Funeral Home is assisting the family.
Raelonna Leigh Carey Burg, born October 30, 1976, in St, Paul Mn. to Wally & Candie (Carey) Burg. Raelonna was the 5th child of four older brothers and one younger sister. She loved life and all nature that surrounded her. She loved the outdoors and playing with her brothers, sister and friends completing all planned shenanigans that gave them all fun and funny memories to look back on. Growing up in Lakeland, Mn. Raelonna attended school in the Stillwater Mn. School district. Following high school, she attended School for Cosmetology and spent many years as a beautician, always wanting people to feel good about themselves and how they look. Raelonna also attended Course of Study through the Iowa Conference of the United Methodist Church serving as Pastor for Elma UMC, Lime Springs/Chester UMC and Lamont/Aurora UMC. Raelonna loved serving our Lord in this way. She loved serving the people of her churches as well as others in the community. She would be there for anyone, anywhere whether it was 1:00am or 1:00pm and all hours in between, always pushing through to help others even when she did not feel well herself. Raelonna also spent time as a hospice volunteer, later needing hospice care for herself. Raelonna met and married Mark Patrick in Riceville, Iowa, July 27, 2002. Together Mark and Raelonna were blessed with three children. William, Alaina, & Jackson. They later divorced at which time Raelonna changed her last name to her mother’s family name, Carey. Raelonna loved people; she was always excited about life and what to do next. She loved her family; her special dad Mike Reed-Carey, welcoming him into the family’s fold with open arms. She loved, cared about and looked up to him throughout her later teen years and throughout her adult life knowing he cared about her and was always ready and willing to help with needed and wanted advice. Raelonna loved her friends and had some of the best school friends a girl could ask for, remaining friends to this day. She loved a very special friend Jim Pleggenkuhle, who loved her, stood by her side caring for her and about her throughout the duration of her illness doing everything possible he could do to help her. Raelonna never met anyone who did not become a friend. As a very young child she would visit her neighbors often, sometimes knocking on the door, other times walking right in asking if they needed help with anything. She was always welcome into their homes whenever she would pop in for a visit. Raelonna had many health challenges in her adult life beginning with a diagnosis of Hodgkin Lymphoma at 20 years old that almost took her life at her young age. She made it through the grueling chemotherapy with hope as she continued to make people laugh with her funny, wonderful sense of humor. After her children were born, more illness set in and at 33 years of age, Raelonna had open heart surgery for dysfunctional heart valves. She was then informed she would need a heart transplant and on the day of her 37th birthday Raelonna received a new, strong heart at the Omaha Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska. Through everything life gave Raelonna to knock her down; she got right back up. She continued to smile, laugh, make others laugh and lived life the way she wanted to, caring about others, helping where she could and through it all she kept her faith in the help and guidance of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. On October 30th, 2024, the Oncology team came into her hospital room at Omaha Medical Center to give yet another diagnosis of Adeno Carcinoma, Stage 4 Lung Cancer. Raelonna continued to climb up when she was knocked down throughout this journey and far surpassed the expected lifetime her medical team thought possible. Raelonna was preceded in death by her maternal grandparents Bill & Pat Carey, Uncles, Billy Carey, Mike Carey, Cousins Michael Lindquist Jr, Cayden Hanson and niece Deja Steele who had the same spunk as her auntie Nana. Her Paternal grandparents Emil and Ida Burg and her cousin Stephen (Petey) Holtz.
Raelonna is survived by her children Will (Claire) Patrick, Alaina Patrick, Jack Patrick, Special Friend Jim Pleggenkuhl, Mom, Candie Carey, Dad, Mike Reed Carey, Brothers Ron (Janaya), Rob (Kerah), Rick (Taryn), Randy (Tammy) and sister Raedena as well as many nieces , nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins and the many friends she has made throughout her lifetime. Raelonna and her family thank Cedar Valley hospice for the care and time over the past several months.
Raelonna will be greatly missed by all the people who knew, loved and cared about her.
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