
Deacon Andy Hardigan covers a fire pit outside the Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace parish hall in Clinton during a mortgage note burning ceremony last month. Also pictured are, from left, Father Paul Appel, Deacon Jeff Schuetzle, Dave Schnier and Jerome Burken.
By Lindsay Steele
The Catholic Messenger

CLINTON — Longtime volunteer Odelia Schrunk surprised her Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace Parish community with a final act of stewardship after her passing in 2023. The retired math educator bequeathed $86,720 to help pay off the parish hall mortgage loan debt.
The posthumous donation surprised the Clinton Catholic community. Friends say Schrunk, who grew up on a farm in western Iowa with eight siblings and never married, lived simply and rarely spoke about her personal finances. “I believe she was quiet about her giving,” said friend Barbara Stevenson, who occasionally gave Schrunk rides to Mass. “While I should not have been surprised by her generosity, I always thought of her as rich in that which is important in the eyes of our Lord rather than the things of this world,” said friend Rose McEleney. “She certainly found an amazing way to take the things of this world and make them pleasing to God.”
Schrunk devoted herself to parish life after retiring from the Clinton Public School system in 1996. She served on parish planning groups and was a founding member of the parish’s stewardship commission. She helped to start a BeFriender ministry for grieving parishioners and took Communion to the homebound.
“Odelia was a faithful Mass goer who always generously supported her parish family, our diocese and worthy charities with her gifts of time, talent and treasure,” said Dave Schnier, parish business administrator. Through it all, “she was a quiet leader, never seeking the limelight for herself,” said friend Lanie Lass. “I believe that she took her duty of being a good steward of God’s gifts seriously and she was blessed with a generous heart,” said the parish’s pastor, Father Paul Appel.
Schrunk served the parish during a challenging transitional period. She joined the parish in 1990, the same year that Bishop Gerald O’Keefe suppressed the five existing parishes in Clinton and combined them into one parish encompassing the entire city. That led to the construction of a new church in 2009 and the addition of a parish hall in 2017.
The parish took out a 30-year mortgage for the parish hall but paid it off in seven years thanks to the generosity of Schrunk and others in the parish community. The parish hosted a mortgage note burning ceremony last month.
“It is truly amazing what the Clinton-area parish community has accomplished over the years … none of which could have been accomplished without the kind, generous, sacrificial support of the people of Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace Catholic Parish,” Schnier said. “We couldn’t have done it without so many helpers,” Father Appel said.
Schrunk also bequeathed $86,720 each to Prince of Peace Catholic School, the Diocese of Davenport, the Diocese of Davenport Seminarian Fund, Catholic Relief Services, Catholic Charities and Holden Cancer & Brain Cancer Research Centers. She gave 10 gifts in total in addition to providing for her loved ones, Schnier said.
The legacy Schrunk leaves behind transcends money, friends say. “She was a steward of God’s grace,” said Deacon Jeff Schuetzle, who serves the parish. “People noticed when she wasn’t there. People still notice when she isn’t there.” He will remember her intelligence and humility — qualities exemplified in a handwritten note that family members found in Schrunk’s home after her passing: “To gain wisdom we must recognize that its origin is not human, but lies in God, a God who is ultimately beyond our comprehension.” He shared Schrunk’s message during her funeral Mass.
“To me, her decades of positive influence with students and leadership in the community are of greater value to all,” said Lass. “I hope people will be just as willing to serve and lift up others as Miss Schrunk did.”