Marliss Pedersen Fiscella

Inwood, IA: Marliss Pedersen Fiscella, 90, of Inwood, Iowa, died Thursday, October 9, 2025, at Fellowship Village of Inwood. A funeral service will be held Wednesday, October 15, at 11:00 AM at Bethlehem Lutheran Church of Inwood with Pastor Sue Sinclair and Pastor Kandi Anderson officiating. Burial will follow the service at Richland Cemetery of Inwood. Visitation with the family present will be held prior to the funeral service from 9:30-10:30 AM at Bethlehem Lutheran Church.

   Marliss (Cornelius) Pedersen Fiscella was born February 13, 1935, at Canton, South Dakota, to Melvin and Avis (Thompson) Cornelius. She grew up in Canton and Gerritson, South Dakota until she and her family moved to Inwood, Iowa in 1941. Marliss attended country school near Inwood and graduated from Inwood High School in 1953. She attended the Iowa State Teachers College, now University of Northern Iowa, for two years and then began teaching Kindergarten and elementary music at Inwood. When Inwood and Larchwood merged and formed West Lyon, Marliss continued to teach Kindergarten. She taught for a total of 30 years. While teaching, Marliss returned to school and received a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education at Augustana College in 1965. She was very proud to be a member of the Delta Kappa Gamma Honorary Teacher’s Society. In 1975 she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.

   On June 19, 1955, Marliss married Roger Pedersen, and they farmed south of Inwood until Roger’s death on March 11, 1992. Later she moved to Green Valley, Arizona. On May 20, 1997, she married Ed Fiscella. Ed died October 10, 2014. Marliss remained in Arizona until she became a resident of Fellowship Village in Inwood in 2018.

   Marliss was very active in the Bethlehem Lutheran Church of Inwood, singing with and/or directing various adult and children’s choirs. Music was a big part of her life, and she sang at numerous weddings, funerals, and community events.

   She is survived by her sister, Dorothy (Roger) Smith of Rock Valley, Iowa; brother, George (Barbara) Cornelius of Los Lunas, New Mexico; sister-in-law, Charmaine Pedersen of Inwood, Iowa; nephews, Drew (Sharla) Smith, and Chad (Amy) Smith; niece, Shannon Hebert; nieces-in-law, Tami (Mark) Miller, Terri (Gene) Boysen, and Pat Pedersen; nephew-in-law, Brian (Diane) Pedersen; many great, and great-great nieces and nephews; close friends, Linda Suitor, Roberta Madland, and Kandi Anderson; and many more relatives, friends, and former students.

   Marliss was preceded in death by her parents, Melvin and Avis Cornelius; both husbands, Roger Pedersen and Ed Fiscella; parents-in-law, Ejner and Stina Pedersen; brothers-in-law, Ernst (Marian) Pedersen and Art Pedersen; nephew-in-law, Scott Pedersen; and great-great-niece, Makayla Smith.