Woods Funeral Home

Ruth Ann Matthews, age 74 of Fairbank entered into heaven surrounded by loved ones on Thursday, April 11, 2019. She was born July 17, 1944 in Waterloo the daughter of Robert and Ida Mae (Ohl) Tabor. On November 17, 1964 she married the love of her life, Gary E. Matthews at the Methodist Parsonage in Fairbank. Ruth and Gary were blessed with three children and 54 years of marriage. Ruth Ann enjoyed creative arts, baking and being a fashionaire with all of her different purses that she picked up along the way. But most of all she was a dedicated and loving wife, homemaker, mother and grandmother. Ruth Ann is survived by her husband; Gary, one son; Robert (Patricia) Matthews of Hazleton, two daughters; Lori (Scott) Jergens of Fairbank and Sherrie (Timothy) Trumblee of Dolliver, Iowa, seven grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and another great blessing on the way. she is also survived by two brothers; Robert Tabor Jr. of Cedar Falls and Rex (Patsy) Tabor of Mullbery, AR. She was preceded in death by her parents, one grandson, Michael Trumblee, one great-granddaughter, Kimberly McClaren, two brothers; Larry Tabor and Gary Stern along with a sister, Sally Fintel.

Funeral Services; 10:00 am Monday, April 15, 2019 at Woods Funeral Home.

Visitation: 5:00-7:00 pm Sunday April 14, 2019 at Woods Funeral Home.

Interment: Fairbank Cemetery.

Memorials: may be directed to the family.

Lyle Luloff age 101 of Fairbank and formerly of Independence, passed away Wednesday, April 3, 2019 at the Cedar Valley Hospice Home in Waterloo.

He was born February 10, 1918 in Brandon, Iowa the son of Otto E. and Edna (Wills) Luloff. He married Ivadel J. Shonka on March 23, 1940 at Zion Lutheran Church, Jubilee.

Lyle farmed from 1936 to 1969 and in 1952 he was named the Outstanding Farmer for Buchanan County. He also was a Township Trustee in Brandon for over 20 years. Besides farming he was a crop adjuster for ASCF. After retiring from farming he became an insurance adjuster for First Maxfield Insurance in Denver, retiring in 1986. After retirement he enjoyed hauling the amish for the next 20 years. He also enjoyed tractor-cades, traveling, Independence Senior Center and dancing. Lyle “Smiley” was known for his stories, charm, jokes and for the love of his family. He lived his motto of “Work hard, love much, laugh a lot and trust in the Lord”.

Survived by: his wife of 79 years, Ivadel, one daughter, Rosemary (Larry) Bachman of Fairbank, one son, Gary (Gail) Luloff of Ellijay, GA, five grandchildren; Brad (grandson) & Kathy Bachman and their children; Abby, Adam & Ben. Brenda Sickles (granddaughter) and her children; Anna & Jacob. Becky (granddaughter) & Keith Thurm and their children; Krystal, Amanda & Joshua. Barbara (granddaughter) & Mike Lorenz and their children; Cody, Daniel & Clair. Brittany (granddaughter) & Carlos Alisambra and their child Emma, two great-great grandchildren; Aspyn Bickers and Charlie Rasmussen as well as a sister-in-law; Dottie Cleghorn.

Preceded in death by: his parents, one brother, Elmer, two sisters; Grace Brandt and Beulah McNamara, one grandson, Brandon Luloff and one grandson-in-law, Randy Sickles.

Funeral Services: 10:30 am Monday, April 8, 2019 at Immanuel Lutheran Church, Independence.

Visitation: 4:00-7:00 pm Sunday April 7, 2019 at Woods Funeral Home, Fairbank and for one hour before services at the church on Monday.

Interment: Mount Hope Cemetery, Independence, Iowa.

Memorials: may be directed to the family or to Cedar Valley Hospice.

Dunkerton: Kenneth Richard Kuenstling age 57 passed away Friday, March 15, 2019 at Unity Point Allen Hospital after suffering a massive heart attack at his home. Kenny was born March 3, 1962 in Waterloo the son of Gerhard and Phyllis (Hauptly) Kuenstling. He grew up in the Dunkerton area and graduated from Dunkerton High School with the Class of 1980. After high school Kenny went to Wartburg College in Waverly for a year. On June 19, 1982 he married his lifelong sweetheart, Deanne Averhoff at St. John’s Bennington Lutheran Church. Kenny and Deanne built their home in rural Dunkerton where they raised their four children. He was the owner and operator of Kuenstling Excavating of Dunkerton since 1994. Kenny enjoyed long afternoons watching the history channel, getting together with friends and family for card club, vacations to Minnesota, traveling with family to basketball games, and being actively involved with the community and church. He was a devoted family man and loved spending time with his grandsons. Kenny was also a man of many words including his passions for weather, politics, technology, and playing in the dirt and snow. He is survived by his wife, Deanne, his four children; Kyle (Whitney) Kuenstling of Cedar Rapids, Keith Kuenstling of Hazleton, Bethany (T.J.) Anderson of Dunkerton and Kory Kuenstling of Des Moines along with three grandsons; Boden Kuenstling, Brantley Kuenstling, Lincoln Anderson, a brother, Kevin Kuenstling of Dunkerton, a brother-in-law, Bob Moulds of Fairbank, a sister-in-law, Doris (Jim) Madden of Waterloo, brother-in-law, Eugene (Sherry) Averhoff of Dorchester, and his father-in-law, Arnold (Karen) Averhoff. Kenny was preceded in death by his parents, two half-sisters; Karen Faust and Karla Moulds, a brother-in-law; Wayne Faust, along with his mother-in-law, LaVera Averhoff.

Services: 10:00 am Wednesday, March 20, 2019 at St. John’s Bennington Lutheran Church, Waterloo, Iowa.

Visitation: 4:00-8:00 pm Tuesday, March 19 at Woods Funeral Home, Fairbank, Iowa and for one hour before services at the church on Wednesday.

Interment: St. John’s Bennington Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers memorials may be directed to the family for later designation.

Online condolences can be left at www.woodsfuneral home.net

Lester Ira Kane 55 of Klinger, IA left this world Friday, March 1^st, 2019. He was born January 6, 1964 the son of Roger and Beverly (Pine) Kane. 

He graduated from Wapsie Valley High School in 1982. After graduation he joined the United States Army. He married and later divorced Lorrie Fecht they were blessed with one child Alyssa Kane.  He shared the last 15 years with his life partner Shelbi Hickman and their pets in their home in Klinger.  Les is survived by Shelbi, his daughter Alyssa Kane, Step-Grandchild Eli Farringer Hickman, his father, Roger Kane Fairbank, Siblings Victor (Jean) Kane of Oelwein, Dexter Kane of Troy Illinois and Trilby (Dan) Waschkat of Waverly. Nieces and Nephews Issac, Hallie, Tyler, Ciara, Spencer, Dori and Levi. He was preceded in death by his mother and his maternal and paternal grandparents.   

He was employed at Eagle Tannery for many years until they closed.  Les then furthered his education graduating with honors from Hawkeye Community College with an Associate’s Degree in Horticulture Science. Les was one of a kind and loved by all. His passion was working with the soil while tending to his numerous plants to construct his garden paradise. His yard was always masterfully decorated for the holidays especially Halloween.  He deeply enjoyed caring for his pets and the love they returned to him.  Les had a deep compassion for people, showing up when they were in need, willing to help however he could.  Even if only by telling a story to make them laugh.  He enjoyed nothing more then to spend time with family and friends and taking a picture so he could reminisce at a later date.

Come share your stories with family and friends at a Celebration of Life Open House on Saturday, March 16, 2019 from 4:00-8:00 pm at the Oran Community Center in Oran, IA.

Memorials can be directed to Shelbi Hickman, 2709 Reed Avenue, Readlyn, Iowa  50668.

Fairbank: Carl Edward Schneider, 94, of Fairbank, formerly of La Porte City and most recently of Jesup died Monday, January 28 at the Cedar Valley Hospice Home in Waterloo of congestive heart failure.

Carl was born March 31, 1924 in rural Warren County lowa near Milo, to Harry and Isabel (Dittmer) Schneider, the third of four children. He attended school at Rosemount.

He served in the US Marine Corp during WWII. After the war Carl moved to the Gilbertville-Jesup area to work for a local farmer. On September 13, 1948 he was united in marriage to Dolores (Lori) Mangrich at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Gilbertville. She preceded him in death on August 23, 2015. Carl farmed near La Porte City for many years prior to moving to rural Fairbank in 1971. He was a member of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church and the Fairbank American Legion Fortsch-Duffy Post 552 both in Fairbank.

He leaves behind two daughters, Linda (Norm) Delagardelle of Jesup, Joyce (Gary) Weber of Raymond, two sons, Bob (Jackie) Schneider of Fairbank and Jim (Jody) Schneider of Readlyn; seventeen grandchildren, Shelly MacConnell, Tina McGill, Robin Travis, Sheila Seelhammer, Gwen Kuper, Eric Weber , Wendy Daiker, Luke Weber, Brook Kaufman, Lee Schneider, Kirk Schneider, Christie Zwanziger, Katie Schneider and Jason, Jenna, Justin and Jacee Schneider; twenty five great grandchildren and one great great granddaughter; two sisters in law, Marlene Mangrich and Pat Mangrich as well as many nieces and nephews.

Preceded in death by his wife, his parents, one brother Wilfred (Augie) Schneider, two sisters; Lucille (Albert) Greubel and Lenore (Bernard) Graham, seven in laws; Ken Mangrich, Irv (Lorretta) Mangrich, Don (Agnes) Mangrich, Kathleen (Fritz) Weber, Lavern Mangrich, Roman (Toni) Mangrich and Jerry Mangrich.

Funeral Services: 10:30 am Monday, Februray 18, 2019 at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Fairbank.

Visitation: 2:00-5:00 pm Sunday, February 17, 2019 with a 5:15 pm Scripture Service at Woods Funeral Home.

Military Rites: Fairbank American Legion Fortsch-Duffy Post 552

Interment: Immaculate Conception Catholic Cemetery, Fairbank, Iowa

Memorials: may be directed to Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Fairbank American Legion or Winding Creek Assisted Living.

Dena Bachman age 93 of Fairbank and formerly of New Hampton passed away Monday, February 4, 2019 at the Community Memorial Hospital in Sumner, Iowa. She was born September, 29, 1925 in Porter, Minnesota the daughter of Clarence and Della (Ellison) Stone. Dena married Raymond Bachman on August 23, 1943 in Klemme, Iowa. Together they owned and operated Bachman Tiling for 40 years. This was the same business that she worked alongside of her dad digging the tile in by hand. Dena also worked as a surgical technician and a home health aide for a number of years. She received her GED on June 8, 1989 the same year she turned 64. Dena enjoyed flowers, crafts, birds and ice cream. She will be remembered for her kind and compassionate heart, sparkly blue eyes, strength, sass and most of all the love of her family. Dena is survived by her three sons; Larry (Rosemary) of Fairbank, Terry (Amaryllis) of Cedar Falls, Raymond (Roxy) of New Hampton and one daughter; Connie (Joe) Schmitz of Fairbank, 17 grandchildren, 41 great-grandchildren and 5 great-great grandchildren, one sister, Carol Ann (Roger) Nichols of New Brownsville, Texas, three sisters-in-law; Irene Stone of Wichita, Kansas, Janice Bachman of Clear Lake and Vera Bachman of Garner. Dena was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, three brothers; Harold, Clyde and Earl Stone and one sister, Evelyn Helgeson.

Funeral Services: 10:00 am Saturday, February 9, 2019 at Trinity Lutheran Church, 223 South Water Ave. New Hampton, Iowa.

Visitation: 4:00-7:00 pm Friday, February 8, 2019 at Woods Funeral Home, Fairbank and for one hour before services Saturday at the church.

Interment: Ell Township Cemetery, Klemme, Iowa.

Memorials: may be directed to the family or to the Cedar Valley Hospice.

Gordon Bentley, age 92 passed away January 25, 2019 at Royal Oaks Nursing Home in Dade City, Florida. He was born December 16, 1926 at Mercy Hospital in Oelwein the son of Earl and Helen (Lacy) Bentley. Gordon attended and graduated from Fairbank High School, Class of 1944. After graduation, he proudly served his country in the U.S. Army. Gordon was stationed in Japan and was trained as a tank mechanic. However, when he arrived there were no tanks to work on, so he remained in the motor pool during his deployment there. When he returned from the Army, he began working at the Chevrolet dealership that his dad founded the year he was born. During that time with the war going on they were only allowed 1 1/2 cars per month. With only a few new cars to sell, Gordon improvised by reconditioning and selling used cars. He was actually selling more used cars than his dad was selling new ones, so one day his dad told him he should just buy the place. So in the late 1950’s, Gordon bought the dealership from his dad. On October 13, 1955, Gordon married Patricia Joerger at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Fairbank. Together they owned and operated Bentley Chevrolet until 1986. Gordon and Patty always spent at least 2 weeks in Florida every winter to attend the Daytona 500. In 1986, they started spending 5 months each year in Florida where he continued to sell used cars until 2018. Gordon’s love for racing began after returning home from the Army. He would go to Daytona Beach to watch stock car racing back when they were still racing on the sand. Gordon also enjoyed building and racing stock cars in Iowa and was quite good at it. Until one night, his mother told him he couldn’t drive anymore. That didn’t stop Gordon from continuing to build and own race cars through 1963. Gordon passed his love for racing down to his children. All three of them started out racing quarter midgets and eventually the number 35 was on two stock cars driven by his sons, David and Duane. Gordon is survived by his wife of 63 years, Patty of Dade City, two sons; David and Duane both of Fairbank, one daughter, Mary (Joe) College of Earlham, Iowa, 8 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren, two sisters-in-law; Mary Lou Fink of Fairbank and Betty Sturm of Estelline, SD and one brother-in-law; Charles (Cleo) Joerger of Fairbank. Gordon was preceded in death by his parents, a sister, Mary Jo and her husband Arnold Coffin, two brothers-in-law; Darwin Fink and Bill Sturm and one granddaughter, Lou Ann Bentley.

Services: 10:30 am Saturday, February 2, 2019 at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Fairbank.

Rosary and Visitation: Parish Rosary at 3:45 pm with visitation to follow from 4:00-7:00 pm Friday, February 1, 2019 at Woods Funeral Home, Fairbank.

Military Rites: Fairbank American Legion Fortsch-Duffy Post 552.

Interment: Immaculate Conception Catholic Cemetery, Fairbank.

Memorials may be directed to the family for later designation.

Joe Bovy age 84 passed away Monday, January 14, 2019 at Unity Point Allen Hospital in Waterloo. He was born in Waterloo November, 16, 1934 the son of Albert and Loretta (Schmitz) Bovy. Joe married Colleen Shannon on June 28, 1955, at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Fairbank. Joe and Colleen started farming in the La Porte City area after they were married. In 1965, they moved to their farm near Oran, where they raised their six children and continued farming. Joe was also employed at John Deere, he later retired after 30 years of service. Joe was a member of the Iowa National Guard for seven years. He served on the Wapsie Valley School Board for a number of years and was a longtime member of the Fairbank Knights of Columbus. Joe also enjoyed working on and driving his 2 cylinder John Deere tractors and was quite proud of them. Most of all, Joe was a loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. He truly enjoyed spending time with his family. Joe always had a smile for anyone he came in contact with. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Colleen, his six children; Sue (Steve) Schneider of Oelwein, Diane (Bob) Biver of Sioux Falls, SD, Linda (Rick Sebetka) Tjelmeland of Jesup, Mary Ann (Peter) Green of St. John, IN Joe (Gail) Bovy of Middleton, WI, and Sharon (Jay) Maxwell of Gaithersburg, MD, 11 grandchildren; Amy (Jon) Renze, Kate (Dave) Meacham, Matt (Wendy) Biver, Eric (Becky) Tjelmeland, Aaron Tjemeland, Adam Tjemeland, Devin (Robert) DeNofio, Courtney (Joey) Calderone, Jessica Bovy, Emily Maxwell, Sydney Maxwell and 6 great-grandchildren; Teagen Renze, Greyson Renze, Bryn Renze, Finley Meacham, Sophia Biver and Giavanna Calderone, two sisters; Joan (Richard) Reiter of Waterloo and Alberta Keough of Cedar Falls, one sister-in-law, Mardeen Bovy and one brother-in-law, Marvin Lund. Joe is preceded in death by his parents, one brother, Raphael “Ray” Bovy and one sister, Elizabeth “Betty” Lund and one brother-in-law, Jim Keough.

Funeral Services: 10:30 am Friday, January 18, 2019 at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Fairbank.

Visitation: 4:00-7:00 pm with a Knights of Columbus Rosary at 7:00 pm, Thursday January 17 at Woods Funeral Home, Fairbank.

Interment: Immaculate Conception Catholic Cemetery.

Memorials to be directed to the family for later designation.

Jack Lorraine Curtis age 98 passed away January, 10, 2019 at Ravenwood Care and Rehabilitation Center in Waterloo. He was born January 19, 1920 in Fairbank the son or Merton and Nancy (Adams) Curtis. Jack grew up in the Fairbank area where he attended and graduated from Fairbank High School. He proudly served in the United States Army from 1941-1945 and attained the rank of Tech 5 Sergeant. Jack also received five bronze stars as he was in five major battles in WWII. On June 19, 1949 he married Verna Wierck at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Fairbank. Jack and Verna made their home in Evansdale and remained there until their passing. Verna preceded Jack in death on August 10, 2015.

Jack worked various odd jobs until he started working at John Deere in Waterloo. He was employed there from 1946 until his retirement in 1981. Jack loved to fish on the Mississippi River in the Guttenburg area, where he and Verna had a trailer for many years. He worked on many cars in his life and always had a big garden. Jack was very proud of his military background and that he was a retiree of John Deere.

Jack is survived by two sons; Peter (Luci) Curtis and Christopher (Jenni) Curtis both of Evansdale, two daughters; Susan Curtis (Larry Oberheu) of Waterloo and Meladee (Sheldon) Rokusek of Elk Run Heights, four grandchildren; Stephanie (Chuck) Woodley, Sunshine (Mark) Husman, Brady (Jheanette) Rokusek and Kayla Curtis, three great-grandchildren; Kyli and Madison Husman and Adrianna Rokusek. He was preceded in death by his parents, one son, Michael Curtis, three brothers; Franklin, Elmer and Howard Curtis, three sisters; Lillian Halblieb, Mabel Polege and Elma Smith.

Funeral Services: 11:00 am Wednesday, January 16, 2019 with visitation from 9:00-11:00 am at Woods Funeral Home, Fairbank, Iowa.

Military Rites: by the U.S. Army and the Fairbank American Legion Fortsch-Duffy Post 552

Interment: Fairbank Cemetery, Fairbank, Iowa.

Memorials: to the Fairbank American Legion or the Fairbank Veterans Park.