My sister, Marlene, was brilliant, loved the outdoors, reading, and solving puzzles. This geocache is a reflection of her brilliance, and her love for all of those things. It's not a difficult puzzle, unlike like the ones she enjoyed most, but if you want a sense of how Marlene would have approached this, do it in INK. She always did.
My life has been shaped by hers in so many ways, but three things stand out:
- She was brilliant and hard-working. In pursuing her ambition to become a teacher, she used me as her student. Marlene taught me phonetics when I was very young. That made it possible for me to start school a year earlier than most of my classmates and I followed her example as an exceptional student. I don't remember many lesson details (the best teachers always impart skills and knowledge without you knowing it) but I always appreciate the impact that had on my life. I vaguely remember having to stay inside even when friends from the neighborhood wanted me to come out and play. Still, a worthwhile investment and much appreciated.
- She loved mysteries, solving puzzles, genealogy and family research, long before the internet made those things at-home pursuits. I've inherited a room full of that history and hope to find time to browse and organize it all someday soon. I think Marlene would like that.
- She suggested, in the summer of 2001, that I look into geocaching. She persisted and got me started early in 2002. The fact that you are reading this, and hopefully enjoying the experience, is because of her.
One other little thing you should know, something not shared in her obituary, is that while traveling Marlene collected small figures of cute little pigs. I don't have a room full of those, but there are a few lurking here around the house, and elsewhere.
Marlene McFate Burkheimer, 69, of Ames passed away in Boone on Wednesday, December 4, 2019. She was born on October 22, 1950 in Marshalltown, Iowa the daughter of Delmar and Edna Mikkelson McFate of Tama. On July 1, 1988 she married Dennis Burkheimer at The Little Brown church in Nashua, Iowa. She worked in the Human Resources office at Iowa State University for more than 20 years, retiring in 2010 and before that worked at Job Service of Iowa in Ames and Davenport. She graduated from South Tama County high school in 1968 and then graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls in 1972.
She loved reading in her spare time and also enjoyed crossword puzzles or any word puzzles. She loved traveling and especially enjoyed visiting all the National Parks in the lower 48 states and spending a few winters after retirement in Florida. Genealogy was also a great passion that she pursued long before the Internet made ancestral search much easier. She enjoyed putting together jigsaw puzzles and also loved Geocaching.
She was preceded in death by her parents and a nephew, Ian Michael McFate.
Survivors include her husband Dennis Burkheimer of Urbandale, stepson Christopher and Jenn Burkheimer of Brattleboro, Vermont, step daughter Angela and Curt Condon of Boone, Iowa, brothers Ron and Lucy McFate of Tama, Mark and Christine McFate of Toledo, Iowa and sister Danna and Wayne Peterson of Spring Hill, Florida. She also leaves behind several nieces and nephews.
Now, get out your ink pen and solve the mystery you see here. Print and work the crossword (in INK) and then, assuming that a=1, b=2, c=3 etc, take each answer and add the letters together to turn that word into a number. Next, taking each answer's number solve the following sums to determine the final coordinates.
A = 17-down plus 28-across plus 24-across plus 7-down plus 16-down plus 25-across minus 268
B = 15-across plus 13-down minus 153
C = 20-across plus 19-across plus 1-down plus 4-down plus 11-down plus 14-across minus 538
D = 23-across plus 2-down plus 5-across minus 262
E = 26-across plus 16-down plus 22-down plus 9-down minus 306
F = 18-down plus 12-across plus 6-down minus 307
Cache coordinates: N 41° 58.ABC W 092° 33.DEF
The CO, and Marlene, ask that you BYOP and please be gentle with Arnold.
This cache is placed in a cemetery, on the boundary, with permission. It is not near any graves but you will need to enter the cemetery to find this cache. Please drive carefully, especially in winter. Please do NOT attempt to drive in if the cemetery roads are covered in snow. Be respectful, and do not attempt after dark or when mourners are present. I encourage everyone to practice CITO at all times, especailly in special places like this. Take care.
I also wish to extend my sincere thanks to the Iowa Geocachers Organization (IGO) and its members, especially those who helped CITO at Oak Hill Cemetery on Sunday morning, September 27, 2020. I am thankful that Marlene convinced me to become a geocacher, providing me with such a wonderful and supportive second family.