Rochelle P. "Chelle" Mannhardt

      Rochelle P. “Chelle” Mannhardt, 83, of Bettendorf passed away peacefully on Friday, December 19, 2025 at her residence.

      Visitation will be held from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. on Friday afternoon, December 26th at McGinnis-Chambers Funeral Home, Bettendorf. A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday morning at the funeral home. The service will be recorded for those unable to attend and will be posted to Chelle’s obituary page at www.McGinnis-Chambers.com. Per her wishes, cremation rites have been accorded. Memorials may be directed to the Scott County Special Olympics or The ARC of the Quad Cities Area. 

      Chelle was born in Chicago, Illinois on March 17, 1942 to Wilbert and Ingrid (Krey) Mannhardt. She attended Park Ridge schools and graduated from Maine Township East High School in 1960. In 1964, she graduated from Illinois State University with a bachelor’s degree in health and physical education. Chelle taught P.E. at Jack London Jr. High School in Wheeling, Illinois, where she worked on integrating blind students successfully into regular P.E. classes. 

      In 1970, she enrolled at the University of Iowa and worked at the Lab School teaching P.E. while earning her master’s degree. She opened Wood Jr. High School in Davenport as a master P.E. teacher in 1972. It was at this time that P.E. became a required course for all students. In 1998, she was hired as the Coordinator of Adapted Physical Education of Davenport schools. Chelle received the prestigious Golden Apple Award. She eventually studied for the National Certification and became the first nationally certified Adapted Physical Education Instructor in Iowa. While working with special needs children, she got involved with Special Olympics and became the co-director of East Area Special Olympics for many years. Chelle was honored to receive The Distinguished Service Award from Iowa Special Olympics. 

      In 1998, Davenport recognized the educational directors and Chelle became a facilitator, which entrusted her with the jobs of assisting the principal and data collector of reading comprehension information for students at two schools. She retired in 2003. 

      Chelle was a member of DARSPA (Davenport Retired Teachers), Delta Kappa Gamma (an educational society), and First Presbyterian Church of Davenport, where she served as a deacon. Chelle mentored clients who are board members at The Arc of the Quad Cities and received The Evelyn Colberg Memorial Award in 2014. 

      In 1985, Chelle met her soul mate and life partner, Marcia Unwin. They married in 2012, when the law permitted. As a youngster, Chelle attended Camp Fire Girls Camp in Wisconsin. As an adult, she worked in camping for the Girl Scouts, Camp Fire Girls, and National Music Camp at Interlochen and Easter Seals in Idaho. Chelle enjoyed the outdoors and always looked forward to her annual fishing and camping week in Wisconsin with family. 

      Those left to honor her memory are her wife, Marcia Unwin; daughter, Shellie (Darius) Sturmer; granddaughter, Sydney; grandson, Donovan; sisters and brothers, Pam (Sam) Evans, Sue Asay, Betty (Dan) Brieser, and Tom Unwin; nieces, Rachel (Robert) Park and Becca (Dylan Berhmann) Evans, as well as numerous other nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews; and cousins, Elmer (Harilyn) Thogersen and their children, Karin and Douglass Thogersen. 

      In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her parents-in-law, Dick and Verna Unwin; son, Scott Littrel; brothers, Ken Asay and Jerry Unwin; and her faithful canine companion, Ashley.