Geneva was born on August 5, 1929, to James and Ada (Brown) Heathcote in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa in the home of her maternal grandparents, Eugene and Jessie (Dacken) Brown. She was the second of ten children and the oldest daughter. She lived most of her life in Des Moines, with the exception of a few years in Maxwell, Iowa and two years in Fairbury, Nebraska. She married Harold E. Taber on October 9, 1945 at the age of 16. She later achieved her GED and always stressed to her children the importance of graduating.Geneva was an in-home daycare provider for many years, and then worked at Precision Sewing. She started working for the Des Moines Public Schools in 1972 as a matron, first at Tech High and then North High School.She loved to go camping and greatly enjoyed the years spent at their summer home near Pilot Mound. They had the fun and excitement of entertaining the movie crew and star of "Twister" when that was filmed near their property.Geneva passed away peacefully at Taylor House Hospice on February 11th, 2017 after a long battle with Alzheimer's.Geneva is survived by her children: Cheryl Baumgartner, Kathy (Doran) Fetters and Harold (Marilee) Taber, Jr.; six granddaughters: Amy Miller, Rebecca Fetters, Deborah Ricketts, Janine Podany, Jennifer Taber and Julianna Taber; 10 great-grandchildren: Holly, Aaron, Elena, Morgan, Meghan, Lily, Charlotte, Elsie, Anderson and Rodrigo; siblings: Gloria Reynolds, James Heathcote, Robert Heathcote and Etta Kimmel; brothers-in-law: Robert Kirkpatrick and Pete Taber; sisters-in-law: Helen Osborn, Phyllis Ferris and Sharon Jackson; and many nieces and nephews. Geneva was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Harold Taber; brothers, Jack, Bill and Charles Heathcote; sisters, Karen Heathcote and Elizabeth Kalar Clouse; and granddaughter, Mary Ann Baumgartner.Her last years were spent at The Shores in Pleasant Hill and the family would like to thank the nurse, Kari, and staff for their dedicated care.A funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. Friday, February 17th, 2017, at Hamilton's Funeral Home, 605 Lyon Street, Des Moines, with burial to follow at Laurel Hill Cemetery. Family will greet friends from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., Thursday, February 16th, at the funeral home. Memorial contributions may be directed to The or AMVET Post 2 in Des Moines. Condolences may be expressed at www.HamiltonsFuneralHome.com.