Gordon Haes, 1923-2007

October 10, 2007

Gordon Haes, 84, of Garner, died on Tuesday, October 2, 2007, at the Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa in Mason City.

Funeral services were held on Monday, October 8, at the St. Paul Lutheran Church in Garner, with the Rev. Dale Glawatz as officiant. Burial was in the Concord Township Cemetery in Garner, with military rites by the Garner Veterans Ceremonial Unit. The Cataldo Funeral Chapel, Garner was in charge of the arrangements.

Gordon Marlen Haes, the son of Benjamin and Ida (Lenz) Haes was born on April 13, 1923 in Garner. He was baptized and confirmed at the St. Paul Lutheran Church. He graduated from the Garner High School in 1940.

On February 7, 1942, he married Shirley Maxine Dakken at Chillicothe, Missouri. Gordon served his country in the U.S. Army in the 82nd Airborne Ordinance Division. He was transferred to the infantry division and was then stationed in the European Theater, primarily in Germany, where he received the Purple Heart.

Gordon served in the Garner Ceremonial Unit for over 45 years. He had worked at Goodrich & Bethke, was a partner with Ray Bunkofske in the Farmer's Produce and also worked at Iowa Mold & Tooling, retiring at age 65.

Gordon enjoyed hunting, fishing, helping others, Western movies and books, Louis L'Amour, Emeril Lagasse (food cooking shows), dogs and birds. He especially enjoyed spending time with his wife, Shirley, his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was a godfather to eight children. Gordon lived his entire life in Garner, living only two blocks from his place of birth.

He was a member of the St. Paul Lutheran Church, the Garner VFW Post #5515, and the National Rifle Association.

He is survived by his wife, Shirley Haes of Garner; his four children, Marlen "Mick" Haes and his wife, Kathy of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Margo Greiman of Windsor, Colorado, Marsha Johnson and her husband, Marion of Garner and Mareen Nedved of Forest City; 18 grandchildren; and 31 great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents; a sister, Irene Maryter; his son-in-law, Gary Greiman; a granddaughter, Jennifer Nedved; and two great-grandchildren, Tate and McCoy Nedved.
©The Garner Leader & Signal 2007

Melva Nannenga, 1929-2007

October 10, 2007

Melva Nannenga, 78, of Garner, died on Wednesday, October 3, 2007, at the Hancock County Memorial Hospital in Britt.

Funeral services were held on Saturday, October 6, at the Garner Evangelical Free Church on Highway 18, with Terry Baxter as officiant. Burial was in the Memorial Park Cemetery in Mason City. The Cataldo Funeral Home was in charge of the arrangements.

Melva Jean Nannenga, the daughter of Emmons and Leona (Kast) Cannon was born on April 29, 1929, at home in Ventura. Melva and Melvin were twins. She attended and graduated from the Ventura High School.

On April 22, 1948, she was married to George Washington Nannenga at the Lakeside Church near Clear Lake. They farmed in the Garner-Klemme area for 25 years and then moved into Garner. Melva worked at the Concord Care Center in Garner and then for Winnebago Industries in Forest City.

She enjoyed knitting, embroidering and watching baseball games. She had attended the Clear Lake Evangelical Free Church.

She is survived by her son, Dennis Nannenga and his wife, Cathy of Garner; two grandchildren, Henry and Lenita Nannenga of Garner; a brother, Joe Cannon and his wife, Sheryl of Rockford; and a sister-in-law, Clarice Cannon of Mason City.

She was preceded in death by her husband, George Nannenga; her parents; two brothers, Melvin Cannon and Earl Cannon; and a sister-in-law, Ruth Cannon.
©The Garner Leader & Signal 2007

Clara Holm, 1916-2007

October 10, 2007

Clara Holm, 91, of Garner, died on Thursday, October 4, 2007, at the Muse Norris Hospice Inpatient Unit in Mason City.

Funeral services were held on Monday, October 8, at the Faith Lutheran Church in Miller, with Rose Visser, lay minister officiating. Burial was in the Ellington Prairie Cemetery. The Cataldo Funeral Home was in charge of the arrangements.

Clara Holm, the daughter of Adolph D. and Anna Melinda (Hall) Holm, was born on October 1, 1916, on a farm northeast of Garner. She was baptized and confirmed at the Ellington Prairie Lutheran Church. Clara graduated from the Ventura High School and continued her education at Waldorf College in Forest City.

Clara lived with her family in Garner before moving to the Prairie View Apartments in Garner. Due to ill health she recently moved to the Concord Care Center. She enjoyed her family, friends, quilting, handwork, collecting teacups, entertaining and her trip to Norway.

She was a member of the Faith Lutheran Church in Miller, WELCA and the Faith Hope Circle.

Clara was preceded in death by her parents; sister, Dorothy Alice Holm  January 25, 1987; and her brother, Gaylord Holm on January 19, 1998.
©The Garner Leader & Signal 2007

Lenabelle Bock, 1904-2007

October 17, 2007

Lenabelle (McGinnis) Bock, died on Saturday, October 6, 2007, at the Pinecrest Manor in Mt. Morris, Illinois.

Born on June 30, 1904 in Linden, Iowa, she was the daughter of Gertrude (Holloway) and Robert McGinnis. She was raised in Linden, Redfield, South Dakota and Stanley, Iowa.

Her teaching degree was earned at Iowa State University and Northern Iowa University, followed by teaching assignments in Swaledale and Klemme, where she met her husband, Edwin Frederick Bock. They were married in 1930. They established their home in Garner, Iowa where Ed Bock was an oil jobber. Since school boards did not hire married women, Lenabelle cooked a noon meal in their home for teachers in the Garner Public School District.

The couple raised two daughters, Mary Margaret and Virginia Mae. When World War II broke out, school districts were only too glad to have married women as teachers. She returned to the Klemme Schools and then to the Hayfield, Iowa School System, where she taught Home Economics until 1947.

Always a volunteer in the Garner community, Lenabelle was an ardent member of the Republican Party. She was asked to run for a seat in the Iowa Legislature in 1960. She accepted, ran and won and represented Hancock County for two terms. Lenabelle was one of five women in the Iowa House of Representatives. She worked hard both in the legislature and in her district. She is remembered for her statement, "Women in the legislature need to look like a girl, act like a lady, think like a man and work like a dog." Her political papers reside in the Iowa Women's Archive at the University of Iowa.

In 1970, Lenabelle and her husband built a home in Clear Lake where they lived for 25 years. When Ed Bock retired they spent their winters in Arizona. At his death in 1995 she moved to Pinecrest Village in Illinois.

She is survived by her daughters, Mary B. Bushnell (Meg) and her husband, Fred and Virginia Lemire and her husband, Robert; six grandchildren, Frederic Bushnell 111 and his wife, Drusie (Taylor), John Bushnell and his wife, Christine (Zimmerman), Cade Bushnell and his wife, Mari Lyn (Gilmore), Edwin (Ned) Bushnell and his wife, Lyrah (Austin), Elise Lemire and her husband, James Taylor and Robert (Bo) Lemire and his wife, Melissa (Strong); and eight great-grandchildren, Thomas, Benjamin and Matthew Bushnell, Grace and Ross Bushnell, Eli Taylor-Lemire, Zachary and Sophia Lemire.

Preceding her in death were her husband, Edwin F. Bock; her parents; two brothers, Gerald and Howard McGinnis; and a sister, Frieda McGinnis Conrath.

Lenabelle Bock's ashes will be interred at Clear Lake, Iowa at a later date.
©The Garner Leader & Signal 2007

Steven Schnell

October 17, 2007

Steven R. Schnell, 50, of Belmond, died unexpectedly on Thursday, October 11, 2007, at the Belmond Medical Center.

Funeral services were held on Tuesday, October 16, at the Belmond United Methodist Church. The Rev. Donna Buckman of the United Church of Christ Congregational officiated. Burial was in the Belmond Cemetery. The Andrews Funeral Home, Belmond, was in charge of the arrangements.

Steven Schnell was owner of Schnell Associates, PC, in Belmond.
©The Garner Leader & Signal 2007

Darrell D. Keifer, 1953-2007

October 17, 2007

Darrell D. Keifer, 54, of Garner, died on Saturday, October 13, 2007, surrounded by his family and friends, at the Muse Norris Hospice Inpatient Unit in Mason City following a brief battle with cancer.

Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m., on Wednesday, October 17, at the Zion Evangelical and Reformed Church in Garner, with Rev. Tim Diehl officiating. Burial will be in the Concord Township Cemetery in Garner. Visitation will be held from 3:30 to 8:00 p.m., on Tuesday, at the Cataldo Funeral Chapel, Garner and will continue one hour prior to the services at the church.

Darrell David Keifer, the son of Ralph and Maxine (Reuter) Keifer, was born on August 28, 1953 at Waterloo. He grew up in Gilbertville and graduated from the Orange High School in Waterloo in 1971. Following high school, he moved to Colorado and worked in sales at Drive Train Industries. In 1977, he moved to Wichita, Kansas, where he was employed as a salesman at Inland Truck Parts.

On November 12, 1978, he and Linda Buholzer started their journey together. They moved to Billings, Montana and were married in the First Methodist Church of Billings and a few years later had a second ceremony at the Holy Rosary Catholic Church also in Billings.

Darrell worked at Montana Break Engineering where he started as a salesman and eventually became president/owner of the company. In 1986, he and his family moved to Garner to be closer to family and Darrell worked for the BMD Company in Klemme, until securing a job with Anco Construction. He was the manager for the Princeton, Missouri hog confinement production plant for nine years. He spent the last nine years working at the Zinpro Corporation of Garner.

Darrell enjoyed fishing, hunting, and the Denver Broncos. His greatest passion was cooking for his family and friends, but most of all he loved being a dad to his three daughters and husband to his wife, Linda. His hobbies included fly tying, designing fishing poles and woodworking. For the past 10 years he took great pride in announcing for the Garner-Hayfield softball, baseball and wrestling programs. He was a dedicated Cardinals fan and proud to be a board member of the new Garner Sports Booster Club. Darrell also made several special friendships with the Forest City softball team and their families while watching his wife coach.

He was a member of the Zion Evangelical and Reformed Church in Garner, Masonic Lodge, Shrine and a founding member of the Garner Sports Booster Club.

Darrell is survived by his wife, Linda of Garner; three children, Katherine Keifer (fiancée, Brandon Schmidt) of Garner, Karin Keifer of Wichita, Kansas and Konnie Keifer of Garner; his father, Ralph Keifer of Gilbertville; a sister, Gail (Don) Dunnwald of Waverly; two brothers, Mike (Michelle) Keifer of Nashville, Tennessee and Jim (Jody) Keifer of Jesup; his mother-in-law, Marie Buholzer of Wichita, Kansas; a brother-in-law, Doug (Leann) Buholzer of Lee Summit, Missouri; many nieces, nephews, great-nieces and nephews; and special friends, Christine (Jimmie) Breshears of Clinton, Missouri and Kevin Clark of Wichita, Kansas.

He was preceded in death by his mother, Maxine; sister, Jo Marilyn Kueter; and father-in-law, Mel Buholzer.
©The Garner Leader & Signal 2007

Violet "Vi" L. Berge, 1914-2007

October 24, 2007

Violet "Vi" L. Berge, 93, of Garner, died on Wednesday, October 17, 2007, at the Concord Care Center in Garner.

Funeral services were held on Saturday, October 20, at the St. Paul Lutheran Church in Garner, with Rev. Dale Glawatz officiating. Burial was in the Concord Township Cemetery. The Cataldo Funeral Home was in charge of the arrangements. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the St. Paul Lutheran Church Renovation Fund.

Violet "Vi" Leona Berge, the daughter of Oscar O. and Marie Sophia (Hanson) Holden, was born on October 5, 1914, on a farm near Ottosen. She was baptized and confirmed at the St. Olaf Lutheran Church in Bode. She graduated from the Bode High School in 1932 and then attended Iowa State Teacher's College in Cedar Falls. She taught in the rural schools of Humboldt and Webster Counties for four years.

She wanted to get involved in the business world, so she prepared herself by attending the American Institute of Business in Des Moines. She worked for a loan company in Des Moines and then moved to Denver, Colorado and worked for a wholesale building supply company. When she moved to San Francisco, she was employed by a utility company. She retired in 1980 after working 30 years for the school administration in Wayzata, Minnesota. Vi often said she enjoyed changing jobs and moving to a different area where she met new challenges, made new friends and had the opportunity to explore.

On November 6, 1982, she was married to B.C. Berge at the Zion Lutheran Church in Clear Lake. They made their home in Garner, moving to Prairie View Apartments in 1994.

She was a member of the St. Paul Lutheran Church, L.W.M.L. and the Ruth Circle. She also had belonged to the Wa Tan Ye's, Birthday Club and the Garner Progressive Club. Vi was a member of the Minneapolis Municipal Club for 30 years. Many of her summer vacations were spent with this club in such places as Mexico, Hawaii, European countries and most of the 50 states.

She is survived by a step son-in-law, Harry (Anne) Anderson of Garner; three step-children, Barbara (Larry) Weians of Parkville, Missouri, Dr. Donald (Nicky) Berge of Clear Lake and Alan (Carol) Berge of Clear Lake; ten step-grandchildren, Timothy Anderson, Valerie (Tom) Alden, Lorelei (Michael) Flanigan, Sara (Scott) Wagner, Andrew (Majo) Christensen, Heidi (Keith) Weaver, Shannon (Nicole) Berge, Kendra (Mark) Holtkamp, Leslie (Dean) Walston and Alex Berge; seven step-great-grandchildren; two sisters, Joyce Wilke of Tipton and Bonita Alexander of Humboldt; a brother, Miles (Edna) Holden of Humboldt; four nieces; and one nephew.

She was preceded in death by her husband, B.C. Berge on October 24, 2006; her parents; a step-daughter, Ann Anderson; and a sister, Bernice Coyle.
©The Garner Leader & Signal 2007

G.W. "Bill" Templeton, 1918-2007

October 24, 2007

G.W. "Bill" Templeton, 89, of Garner, died on Saturday, October 20, 2007, at the Concord Care Center in Garner.

Memorial services will be held at 10:30 a.m., on Wednesday, October 24, at the United Methodist Church in Garner, with Rev. David Wagner officiating. Inurnment will be in the Concord Township Cemetery. Military rites will be conducted by the Garner Veterans Ceremonial Unit. Visitation was held from 5-7:00 p.m., on Tuesday at the United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall in Garner with a Masonic service at 7:00 p.m. Visitation will continue one hour prior to services at the church. The Cataldo Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements. Memorials may be directed to Hospice of North Iowa or to donor's choice in Bill's name.

George William Templeton, the son of George A. and Carolyn (Morris) Templeton, was born on May 30, 1918 at Panora. He attended school at Panora until 1929 when he moved with his family to Perry. He graduated from the Perry High School in 1935 and continued his education for a year at the University of Iowa. Bill then transferred to Drake University where he graduated with a law degree in 1942.

In his senior year of law school, Bill was elected president of his law class. A week after graduating from law school, he entered the U.S. Army Air Corps serving his country as an instructor of single and multi-engine aircraft. Bill was very proud to have served his country during WW II.

On May 3, 1944, he married Dorothy Mae Swift at Strother Field, Kansas. In January of 1946, they moved to Garner where Bill had his own law practice until retiring in 1983. He enjoyed flying airplanes, wintering in Arizona, traveling, woodworking, annual deer hunting trips and, in his younger years, playing in the Garner Old Timer's Band.

Bill was an active member of the United Methodist Church where he served in many capacities over the years. He served on the board of directors of the Hancock County National Bank for 20 years, the Garner Fire Department for 20 years, was the school board secretary from 1946 to 1975 and was county attorney from 1950 to 1962.

He also belonged to the Garner American Legion, Iowa State Bar Association, Hancock County Bar Association, the Garner Lions Club, Bethel Masonic Lodge in Garner for 50 years where he also served as Past Master and Za-Ga-Zig Shrine.

He is survived by his two sons, John (Darlene) Templeton of Round Rock, Texas and Steve (Bev) Templeton of Garner; and five grandchildren and their families, Ryan (Erin) Templeton and their two children, Quinn and Carsen of Pflugerville, Texas, Bob (Marsha) Templeton and their two children, Camden and Braden of Round Rock, Texas, Cari Templeton (fiancée, Mitch Klemme) of Preston, Iowa, Amy Templeton of West Des Moines and Erin Templeton of Washington, Illinois.

Bill was preceded in death by his wife, Dorothy on October 10, 1993; his mother, Carolyn in 1969; his father, George in 1964; and a brother, Morris in 1996.
©The Garner Leader & Signal 2007