Category: Family News

Janet’s father passed away on the 9th of September, and Janet gave us permission to post her father’s obituary as a tribute to his life.

Name: Richard “Dick” A. Pate
Date of Death: Sep 9, 2012
Location of Service: Peterseim Funeral Home – Kalona

A celebration of life for Richard A. Pate, 87 of Kalona was held Wednesday, September 12, 2012 at 11:00AM at the Peterseim Funeral Home in Kalona with Pastor Jerry Stevenson officiating. A time of food and fellowship followed at the Kalona United Methodist Church in Kalona. The body has been cremated. A memorial fund has been established for the Pleasantview Home or Iowa City Hospice. Richard Pate died Sunday, September 09, 2012 at the Pleasantview Home in Kalona following a decline in health.

Richard Albright Pate was born December 19, 1924 in Iowa City, Iowa the son of Richard Manly and Della (Albright) Pate. He graduated from Iowa City High School in 1943. In August of 1944 he enlisted in the United States Army and served his country during World War II in Italy and the Philippines. On May 7, 1947 he was united in marriage to Ruth Katzenmeyer at the Little Brown Church in Nashua, Iowa. Richard farmed in the Iowa City area his entire life and was a member of the Welsh Church. He was also a charter member of the Iowa City Camel Wheels (1971), Iowa Cattleman’s Association (1973), a 50 year member of Sharon Center Fellowship Lodge #549, KAABA Shrine, Scottish Rite Consistory in Davenport, Lone Tree American Legion and a past president of the Welsh Pioneer Cemetery Association. Richard enjoyed traveling and farming.

Survivors include his wife Ruth of Iowa City, two children, David and wife Christine Pate of Iowa City, Iowa, Janet Barber and friend Dale Schoen of Overland Park, Kansas, three grandchildren, Chad and wife Shauna Pate, Elizabeth Pate and John Barber and one great-granddaughter, Ella Isabelle Pate, and a sister-in-law, Shirley Pate of Iowa City, Iowa.

Preceding Richard in death were his parents and one brother, Robert Pate.

Dave:

I’ve attached a more recent family photo for the photos page. I had forgotten that I’d given you that relatively old one. I’ll try to remember to send an even newer one in the next few months since the boys, especially Ben (the younger of the two at only 13) seems to have hit about 6′ recently. As always, thanks for all you do! Your emails really brighten my day.

Judy

Hi Dave,

Sorry that I haven’t updated things since ages ago. Would you please post a new photo for me? I got remarried in July 2010 to a chemistry professor at Santa Clara University who I met commuting to Santa Clara on the train.(Steve Fedder) He was divorced and so was I, and we had many stories to swap in the beginning. We both have children at similar ages, so now there are five kids in all, who are gone to school or graduated and gone to jobs, ages 20-26. Life for me is wonderful, the best it’s been in years! A new chapter and it’s a great one.

Love hearing your updates, keep them coming!

Patty

Dave,

We had a lot going on the past 1-2 months, as my mom’s stomach hernia raged out of control, caused infection, and thereby made her congestive disease fail (lack of a better word). In other words, her health failed immediately, and Geri Hartsock died on Sunday night August 6th near midnight with family and church members by her side. Because she knew she was dying, she called all of her friends to say goodbye. We had her celebration service on Friday August 10th, in Brighton Iowa. Her burial was alongside of her Husband, Ernest Hartsock in the Hummer Cemetery near Sharon Center Iowa. My wife Anne and I provided music for the Service. (She sang, and I played organ prelude, and postludes.)

She was Born in Freeport Illinois, and Lived in Clinton Iowa…Met my Dad in Bible School in Zion Illinois…My Dad was a farmer in Oxford for many years, moved into Iowa City in 1967 and eventually they lived in Brighton Illinois since 1998.

Note: (see the photo below of the cat that I was lucky to see.)

She had a life long affection for Cats, and guess who showed up?!

(or Honorary Paw Bearer, or, ….. a Cat Honorguard!) How did they know?! I don’t believe they believe in using Twitter, I wonder what other way they communicated?! or do they just know………….

We recently returned from a trip to Iowa. My family and Julie’s family both had family reunions, so we got to see and visit 50 of the 53 members of both families. Those not present had commitments that could not be broken. For my family it was the first time since December of ’99 that we were all gathered together. We had a family dinner at a local watering hole and a family gift exchange at my mom’s house later in the day. Immediately following the gifts was a massive family water fight with 500 water balloons and 20 or so super soaker water guns. At the end of the day I don’t think anyone had a dry piece of clothing on. It was great fun and a little hard to believe that that many adults could have such a good time without any hard feeling.

Julie’s family gathering was much more sedate with a large BBQ adult beverages and great conversation. We spent part of one day playing in West High’s annual golf outing. Shooting par golf and finishing dead last. We actually played well but could not make those birdie putts needed for the win. There were a few familiar faces there and the tourney was won by Dave Osborne and his team. I spent a little time chatting with him and getting caught up on his and Walt’s past.

We spent the 4th of July at the Coralville Reservoir, a little different than the white sunny beaches of south Florida. The weather there was amazingly hot. It was about 88 when we left Ft. Lauderdale and well over 100 in IC. The drive up was over 100 the entire trip with the hottest in Nashville at 113, according to our car temp gauge. Hard to believe that we had to come home to get to cooler weather.

The picture above was taken at my family reunion, From L-R Ben our oldest, Brandy girlfriend of Quin, Quin our youngest, Julie and myself, just getting into the water fight. Hope all is well for everyone and looking forward to next year class reunion

On June 17, 2012, we welcomed a new little guy, Harrison Andrew Carvo, into this world. You can officially call me Grandpa.

My daughter sure knows how to do Father’s Day right!

Hi Dave,

This past weekend I married off my second daughter, Valerie to Alex Willcox in Des Moines. It was a beautiful ceremony and dampened only by a brief summer shower just as the wedding party got on the bus. Alex and Valerie are living in Bozeman, MT.

Here is another photo of the wedding, the sculpture cake that was a family affair. I made the base, bought the glass, made the bottom layers out of Styrofoam, bondo and fondant, Valerie made all the details on the cake including all the silk flowers and ruffles, and Krista made the REAL cake on the top. It was quite the family project, especially since we had to coordinate the construction from three different states, Iowa, Nebraska and Montana.

Don’s father passed away on the 5th of March, and Don gave us permission to post his father’s obituary as a tribute to his life.

Donald Ray Rinehart, 85, of Cedar Rapids, died Sunday, May 6, 2012. Services: 10 a.m. Saturday, May 12, at Sharon United Methodist Church, 1809 Ninth St. SW, Cedar Rapids, by the Rev. Bob Dagit and the Rev. Brenda Ehret. Family will greet friends from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, May 11, at Murdoch-Linwood Funeral Home & Cremation, Cedar Rapids. Scattering of cremains at a later date.

He is survived by his wife, Willa; his children, Don (Tami) Rinehart of New River, Ariz., Lisa (John) Della Selva of St. Paul, Minn., and Ken Rinehart of Cedar Rapids; sister, Marjorie Dunham of Freeport, Ill.; four grandchildren, Christopher Rinehart and Nicole Irvin, and Natalie and Lauren Della Selva; stepgrandchildren, Keegan and Jess Boyer of Cedar Rapids; stepgreat-grandson, Owen James Caldwell; sister-in-law, Betty Stansberry of Arizona; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; brother, Doyle Rinehart; and infant brother, Carol Rinehart.

Don was born April 15, 1927, in Kellogg, Iowa, to Carl and Marie (Hinshaw) Rinehart. He graduated from Knoxville High School in 1945 and served in the United States Army from March 1945 to October 1946. He married Willa Hahlbeck on April 13, 1952, Pender, Neb. Together, they had three children, Don, Lisa and Ken. Don worked as a medical administrator for the Veterans Administration, until he retired in 1983.

Don enjoyed playing guitar for the dance band of Leonard Reyman Band for over 40 years. His love for music and entertaining and watching others being touched by his talent was symbolic of the way he gave and received love with his family and those whose lives he touched. Don also volunteered at St. Luke’s Hospital for many years.

Doug’s father passed on the 19th of April. Doug wrote to us:

Hi Dave —

Thank you for your kind note.  It would be fine to list the obituary.

When I spoke at his funeral I wore a “Hawkeye” tie with large diagonal black and gold stripes that he had left behind in my parents last home prior to moving to an assisted living facility.  When I found the tie in a closet in their home, I asked him if I could have it, and he said sure, he didn’t have much use for ties at this stage of his life.  At the funeral, I took the tie off and laid it across the top of the pulpit and said this tie and these colors symbolized so much in his life.  The University of Iowa was what drew him to Iowa City, where he received a degree and was subsequently employed for many years.  All of his children also received degrees from the U of I.

The black and gold could also symbolize his youth, where he lived on a farm in Muscatine county and the rich black soil yielded a bounteous harvest of golden corn and oats.  In his adult years, we lived on 7 acres of land west of Iowa City, and he was a gardener extraordinaire, and the rich black soil there also yielded a bounteous harvest which included exotic species such as golden raspberries and golden tomatoes.  In the weekend where we celebrated his life and mourned his loss, the black symbolized our sadness at no longer having him with us, but the gold symbolized the radiant smiles of people coming together across the miles and the years to reconnect in his honor.

In concluding, I asked those assembled to recall the movie, “Field of Dreams”, where “Shoeless” Joe Jackson walked out of the cornfield and sees the newly constructed baseball field and asks: “Is this Heaven?”  And as any true Iowan would know, the girl responds, “No…it’s Iowa.”  I think my father was trying to construct his version of Heaven on Earth with what he developed on our property, but the true Heaven on Earth he experienced was the love he was shown by so many people during his declining time.

Here is his father’s obituary, offered as a tribute to his life:

Herbert L. Hetzler, 87, of Muscatine, died on Thursday, April 19, 2012, at Sunnybrook of Muscatine.

A Celebration of Life Service was held on April 23, 2012, at Sweetland United Methodist Church.  Reverend Jim Turner of the Sweetland United Methodist Church officiated.

Memorials may be made to the Sweetland United Methodist Church Memorial Fund or Iowa Hospice.

Herbert was born on September 6, 1924, in Muscatine County, the son of Eugene and Gertrude Raub Hetzler.  He married Martha L. Kemper on July 19, 1953, at the Sweetland United Methodist Church.

He was a graduate of the University of Iowa.

A veteran of the US Army, Herbert served from 1946-1949, during World War II in the Pacific Theater.

He worked as a chemist in the medical labs at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, and the clinic in Oakdale.

He was a member of the Phi Kappa Alpha Fraternity, University of Iowa I Club, and was an active member at Sweetland United Methodist Church and was an avid Hawkeye fan.

He loved to garden and growing strawberries, sweet corn, and tomatoes were his specialties.

Those left to honor his memory include his wife, Martha Hetzler of Muscatine; two sons, Douglas Hetzler and wife Suzanne, of Soquel, Calif., and Byron Hetzler of Granby, Colo.; one daughter, Debra Keely and husband, Stan, of Longwood, Fla.; six grandchildren, Elizabeth Leon Ramirez and husband, Leo, Patrick Keely and wife, Leslie, Jeffrey Keely, Connor Hetzler, Emily Hetzler, and Erik Hetzler; one great-granddaughter, Kaylyn Leon Ramirez; and one brother, Wilbur Hetzler and wife, Marion, of Muscatine.

He was preceded in death by his parents; one sister, Marian Ide; and four brothers, Albert, Edgar, Wayne, and Marvin Hetzler.

Hi Dave!

I apologize if I didn’t respond to your correspondence some time back. I thought I did. Anyway, I’m living in the Chicago area and have been since 1981. 2 kids, Nathan almost 18 and Andrea, soon to be 16. Feel free to post my contact info. Hope all is well Dave. (I feel like I know your family). Thanks for all your doing, and please continue the wonderful  job keeping us all connected! All the best to the class of ’73!

Tom