Woods Funeral Home

Darrel Francis Cox age 81 of Fairbank passed away, January 23, 2023 at his home. He was born October 14, 1941 in Waterloo the son of Raymond and Helen (Whitney) Cox. Darrel grew up in rural Fairbank and spent the rest of his life in the same area. He was a graduate of the very first class of Wapsie Valley Community Schools in 1960. Darrel was a lifelong farmer while also working at John Deere in Waterloo for 38 years, which he retired from in 1998. He married Carolyn Ann Schutte on August 19, 1961 at the United Methodist Church in Fairbank. Carolyn passed away March 11, 1988. Darrel enjoyed driving, making the rounds and visiting as many people as he could in a day. He had a regular schedule he stuck to each week for the different eating establishments in the local area and if he didn’t show, someone was on the phone to one of the boys making sure he was okay. Darrel’s family was his pride and joy. He thrived in attending all of his boys’, grandchildren and great-grandchildren’s activities and rarely missed an event. Along with the love of his family and friends, came his strength in faith. Darrel was a lifetime member of the United Methodist Church of Fairbank where he was baptized, confirmed and married. He will be missed by so many, especially his family, whom he loved so much.

Darrel is survived by his four sons; Russ of Readlyn, Brian (Reiko) of Greenwood, Indiana, Dan of Plainfield and Mike of Readlyn. Nine grandchildren; Alicia (Nate) Jones, Rhino (Abby) Cox, Sheila (Dave) Wangsness, Khyle (Shaliah Anderson) Cox, Jerod Cox, Christy Cox, Kevin (Lillie) Cox, Ashlyn Snowden and Branden Cox. Nine great-grandchildren; Jesse, Jamie and Jase Jones, Kiptyn and Kynlee Cox, Hannah, Wade and Wes Wangsness and Bo Cox. One brother, Craig (Wilma) Cox;  one brother-in-law, Elton Schutte; and a sister-in-law, Shirley Schutte. Darrel was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, a brother, Curtis Cox;  his father-in-law and mother-in-law, Rueben and Esther Schutte; a brother-in-law, Orlyn Schutte;  and a sister-in-law, Shirley Schutte and several close friends.

Visitation: 3:00-7:00 PM Sunday, January 29 at Woods Funeral Home and for on hour before services Monday at the church.

Funeral Services: 10:00 AM Monday, January 30 at the United Methodist Church in Fairbank.

Interment: Fairbank Cemetery

Memorials: May be directed to the United Methodist Church or to the family for later designation.

Lunch will be served following the services at the Fairbank American Legion.

Sherry Duffy, 60 of Fairbank passed away Tuesday, January 3, 2023 at her home. She was born December 3, 1962 the daughter of Jerry and Wanda (Tope) Kaufman. Sherry attended Wapsie Valley Community Schools and graduated with the Class of 1981. After high school Sherry enrolled and graduated from Hawkeye Community College. As an infant Sherry was baptized at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Fairbank where she became a lifetime member. Sherry was united in Holy Matrimony to her high school sweetheart, Tony, on October 23, 1982 at Immaculate Conception Church. The union was blessed with two children, Brent & Candace. Sherry worked for various businesses during her working career, with the last 16 plus years being an Administrative Assistant for Pete Meehan at Financial Decisions Group. Sherry had a generous spirit and pleasant personality, she was loved by many. Her Christian life was as beautiful as the flowers that she loved so well and her influence will forever remain in the lives of all who knew her.

Sherry’s beautiful life will forever be cherished by her husband of 40 years, Tony, her children; Brent Duffy of Waverly and Candace (Rob) Ratchford of Independence, her grandchildren “her pride and joy” Madden and Bristol Ratchford, Makinna, Grayson and Adalyn Duffy, two sisters; Julie (Curt) Kelley and Denise (Bob) Crew, one brother, Todd (Tina) Kaufman, sisters-in-law; Clarice (Steve) Levey, Carol Duffy, Nina Duffy, Nancy (Rich) Wallace, Norma (Kevin) Westendorf, brothers-in-law; Mike (Judy) Duffy, Tim (Jeanette) Duffy Ted (Sue) Duffy along with many devoted aunts, uncles nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. Sherry was preceded in death by her parents, paternal grandparents, Fred and Marie (Steils) Kaufman, her maternal grandparents; Lester and Opal (Ruroden) Tope, father and mother-in-law, Jack and Dorothy (Kane) Duffy, brother-in-law, Mark Duffy, niece, Lou Ann Bentley and nephews; Chris Wallace and Josh Menuey.

Visitation: 4:00-7:00 PM Friday, January 6th at Woods Funeral Home, Fairbank.

Funeral Mass: 10:30 AM Saturday, January 7th at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Fairbank.

Interment: Immaculate Conception Cemetery.

Lunch will be served at the Immaculate Conception Parish Center

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

Howard Meaney 88 of rural Oelwein passed away Sunday, January 1, 2023 at MercyOne Hospital in Oelwein. He was born October 4, 1934 in Waterloo the son of Martin and Agnes (Shannon) Meaney. Howard attended and graduated from Immaculate Conception Catholic School in Fairbank with the Class of 1952. After high school Howard was employed at John Deere in Waterloo until he was drafted into the United States Army. He served in the Army from 1957-1959 and he then returned to work at John Deere, retiring in 1987. Howard was also a lifelong farmer until he retired from farming in 2010. Howard married Janet Bantz on November 11, 1961 at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Fairbank. Howard was a member of the UAW 838 of Waterloo, the Fairbank Knights of Columbus as well as the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Janet, his seven children; Susan (Ed) Corcoran of Paullina, Tim (Patty) Meaney of Oelwein, Barbara (Kevin) Salisbury of Cedar Falls, Jacqie (Jim) Mikkola of Cedar Rapids, Daniel (Angel) Meaney of Oelwein, Erin Meaney of Cedar Rapids and Michael (Kristin) Meaney of Somonauk, IL, 14 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, one sister, Dorothy Kriener of Fredricksburg and one sister-in-law, Janice Bantz of Westgate. Howard was preceded in death by his parents, one brother, Leonard and two brothers-in-law; Ronald and James Bantz.

Visitation: 4:00-7:00 PM Thursday, January 5th and from 9:00-10:15 AM Friday at Woods Funeral Home, Fairbank.

Parish Rosary: 3:45 PM Thursday, January 5th at the funeral home.

Funeral Mass: 10:30 AM Friday, January 6th at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Fairbank.

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

Interment: Immaculate Conception Cemetery, Fairbank.

Memorials: May be directed to the family for later designation.

Lunch will be served at the Parish Center following graveside service.

Laura I. Heilmann-Ott, 93, of Fairbank, peacefully passed on Friday, December 16th after a brief illness.  

The family will welcome friends for a visitation on Tuesday, December 20 from 4:00-7:00 p.m. and for one hour before the services Wednesday, both at Woods Funeral Home in Fairbank.

Funeral services will be held Wednesday, December 21 at 10:30 at Woods Funeral Home in Fairbank. Burial will be in the Fairbank Cemetery.  The family would like to invite everyone to a luncheon, at the American Legion, immediately following the committal. 

Laura Irene was born October 14, 1929 to Ross and Pearl (Shaw) Gallup. Laura was a lifelong resident of the Fairbank area. She was united in marriage to Robert (Bob) Heilmann on June 18th, 1950. This marriage would result in two children, Dawn (1959) and Rob (1960), and would last until Bob’s untimely death in 1993. Laura was remarried to Dwaye Ott in 2004. Dwayne and Laura spent a great deal of time traveling, including several trips through the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Laura worked in retail at several different stores during her life but she was best known as the “Avon Lady” for more than thirty years. 

Laura’s greatest joys in life were her family, her strong faith in Jesus Christ and her love of music. Laura would routinely volunteer time to sing in nursing homes and to other civic organizations. She was a member of the Independence Ladies Musical Society for over 60 years. Laura was also a longtime member of the American Legion Auxiliary.

Laura is survived by her husband Dwayne, a son, Rob Heilmann, of Independence and three grandchildren: Jeremy Zaruba (Jessie) of Grimes, Elizabeth Zaruba of Fairbank, and Brock Zaruba of Fairbank. She was blessed with three great-grandchildren: Lydia, Eliza and Julia. She is also survived by her step-children, Dennis Ott (Roxanne) and Donna Brown (Randy).

She was preceded in death by her parents; her first husband, Bob; her daughter, Dawn; two sisters, Norma and Arlene; and her brother Frank.

Memorials may be directed to the family for later designation.

Irene Audrey (Strempke) Kremer 80, of Fairbank, IA passed away Saturday evening, September 10, 2022, at Oelwein MercyOne Hospital with her husband and her children at her side. Irene was born August 25, 1942, the daughter of Carl and Margaret (Hults) Strempke in Brandon IA. They later moved to Independence. Irene married Dorrence Kremer on November 9, 1959 in Lamont. Irene and Dorrence farmed and raised their family in rural Fairbank.

 Irene was preceded in death by her parents, brothers and sisters; Chuck, Elaine, Betty Ann, Jayne, Clint, Clair, Clifford, Clyde, Carl Cleo. Irene was also preceded in death a grandson; Jordan Thomas Kremer.

Irene leaves behind her husband, Dorrence, their five children; Guy Kremer, RoxAnn (Todd) Scott, SuzAnn (Dirk) Conner, Patricia (Fredrick) Carson, Jeffrey (Kim) Kremer; eight grandchildren Jessica Marrah, Patrick (Krista) Marrah, Anthony Marrah, Luke (Beth) Conner, Ethan (Hannah Werner) Conner, Audrey Carson, Michael Carson and Alexis Kremer. Two step-grandchildren; Cody Aiello and Gabrielle and six great grandchildren; Maddex Marrah, Kylie Marrah, Reilly Marrah, Mason Marrah, Chelsea Conner and Kailee Conner along with two sisters; Joann and Ruth.

Celebration of Life: 1:00-4:00 PM Saturday, April 1, 2023, at the Fairbank American Legion.

Kay (Mersch) Regenold, 82, of Cedar Falls formerly of Fairbank, passed away on Saturday, August 13, 2022 at UnityPoint Hospice in Waterloo.

Kay was born on May 29, 1940, the daughter of Lawrence “Dutch“ and Letha (Jardee) Mersch. Kay was baptized, confirmed, and graduated from Immaculate Conception the class of 1958.  She was united in marriage to Ronald J Regenold on December 30, 1958 at Immaculate Conception church in Fairbank. From that union four children were born; Tammy, Joe, Marty and Tim.

Kay is survived by two sons, Joe (Julie) Regenold from Readlyn and Marty (Dawn) Regenold from Denton, TX; nine grandchildren; RJ (Genevieve), Jenny (Todd), Josh (Megan), Mandy (Stuart), Ben (Chelsey), Derek (RaeAnn), Dustin (Heather), Andy, and Whitney (Scott) nine; great grandchildren and one sister Barbara (Bobbie) Cole from Montague, TX.

Kay is preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Ronald Regenold; daughter Tammy; son Tim; two sisters, Pat McGrath, Marylee Kramer.

Private family services will be held at Immaculate Conception Church with burial following at the Immaculate Conception Cemetery.  Memorials may be directed to  UnityPoint Hospice, Waterloo.

Cards may be sent to Joe Regenold, 608 Westview Drive, Readlyn, Iowa 50668

Mike Harter passed away Monday July 18, 2022 in a tragic automobile accident while doing one of the things he most enjoyed, educating young people.

This isn’t so much an obituary but a letter to those that knew Gregory Michael Harter (G Mike).

On April 27^th, 1951, in a log cabin in Pisgah, IA, Mike was born to Guy and Eloise (Erixon) Harter.

Mike grew up working on the family farm in the Loess Hills of Iowa. Always a teacher at heart, even as a child, Mike loved learning and knew at a young age he wanted to share that passion with others.

Mike met the love his life in 1972 while attending the University of Northern Iowa, majoring in driver’s education and political science. On May 24^th, 1975, Mike and Marla were united in marriage in Olin, IA. The very next day the newlyweds moved to Council Bluffs, IA, and Mike worked at a meat packing plant in Omaha. Three months later they moved to the Rosebud Indian Reservation in Mission, SD, where they both began their teaching careers.

In 1978, they welcomed their first son Andy, and in 1979 Mike and his family moved to Orient, IA, to begin teaching high school social studies and coaching baseball, football and basketball for Orient Macksburg.

In 1983, to complete their family, Mike and Marla welcomed their son Ryan.

After earning his master’s degree in Education Administration from Northwest Missouri State in 1985 the family moved to Russell, IA, where he was the high school principal, while still being able to teach a variety of classes.

In 1991, Mike was offered the high school principal job at Wapsie Valley High School which began his love for a town and community that would become his forever home. A community where his sons would graduate high school and, in 2018, was honored to be elected the Mayor of Fairbank.

After eleven years at Wapsie Valley, Mike became the superintendent at East Greene Schools in western Iowa, while also serving on the Iowa Girl’s Athletic Union. Not wanting to uproot his family, but not wanting to pass on a great opportunity, he traveled back and forth, coming home on weekends, to be with his family.

Although, self-admittedly not much of an athlete in high school, Mike loved all sports and coached many teams throughout the years—his true passion was baseball. At a young age his love for the New York Yankees began. He was overjoyed the summer of 1995 when he finally got to experience watching his favorite team play at Yankee Stadium with his family.

Before retiring from education in 2014, Mike was honored to serve one year as the interim superintendent for Wapsie Valley Schools—and although that came to and end, Mike never gave up his passions—teaching Driver’s Education, officiating as many sports as he could and substitute teaching wherever and whenever he was needed.

Mike’s family was his life. Having loved watching his boys excel in their activities throughout high school, his greatest joy was being able to watch his five grandchildren thriving in all of their activities. You could find him cheering on the Warriors on the bottom row of the visitor’s section at Wapsie Valley Varsity Basketball games.

Mike was a man of integrity, passion and love. As a lifelong public servant, in addition to dedicating his life to teaching hundreds of students, he also was passionate about serving and leading the communities he lived in. Holding organ donorship close to his heart, Mike was a proud organ donor though the Iowa Donor Network.

Mike is preceded in death by his mother, father, and two brothers; Leo and Gary and two sisters-in-law; Nancy and Vicki Harter.

Mike is survived by his beautiful wife Marla Sanborn Harter; children Andy (wife Jeni) and Ryan (partner Jasmin) five grandchildren; Peyton (fiancé Maddie), Carson, Mason, Grace, and Maddux, two brothers, Harlan Harter, Rex (Mary) Harter and one sister, Patti (Mike) Crozier and a sister-in-law, Jayne Harter. Along with many nieces and nephews.

Leaving behind so many amazing memories of all that knew him, Mike will be greatly missed and will always remain in our hearts. Thank you for always being you Mike!

“Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.” -Babe Ruth

A celebration of life will be held at Wapsie Valley High School at 2:00 p.m. Friday, July 22, 2022.  A reception will be held at the American Legion following the celebration of life. All those who knew and loved Mike are encourage to come.

In lieu of flowers the family asks that donations be placed in Mike’s honor. Donations will be used to establish a memorial in his honor.

Marilyn Jean (Baker)Swanson passed away peacefully on Monday June 27^th, 2022 in her home in Dunkerton, Iowa. 

She was born on April 27^th, 1935 in Waterloo, Iowa to Leslie and Ruth (Clouse) Baker.  She spent some of her childhood in Waterloo before moving to Chicago, IL and eventually Thermopolis, WY.  There she grew up enjoying the Wind River Canyon with friends and working at the local hot springs.  She graduated from Hot Springs High School in 1953 and moved back to Waterloo, where she worked as a telephone operator.  She would later be introduced to her future husband, Tommy Dean Swanson.  The two were united in marriage on July 20^th, 1955 and had 4 children together; Jack, Jill, Eric and Erin (Katie). 

Marilyn was a character with a strong will and a competitive nature!  As a younger woman and mother, she was part of the community women’s softball league and served as a cub scout den leader.  In her later years, she could often be seen, and especially heard, at her grandchildren’s sporting events and school activities.  She was a distinct member of her community, approachable and entertaining.  For decades, her whistle could be heard throughout town!

She was a member of the Methodist church, active in both youth and adult activities.  She was also a believer in Chinese astrology and soon after you’d meet her, she’d ask you what year you were born and tell you all about your “sign”.

Her greatest character trait was her love for her family. Her children and grandchildren were her greatest pride and joy.  The quieter version of Tommy, but always the Matriarch, making sure her family was first. 

She is survived by her brother Dale Baker, son Jack (Janet) Swanson and two Daughters Jill (Larry) Rourke and Katie Smith.  Along with 9 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren.

She is proceeded in death by her parents, 2 brothers,  husband, son Eric Swanson and granddaughter Dyana Leigh Rourke.

As a final contribution to others, Marilyn donated her body to Des Moines University for anatomical and surgical research.  Cards and memorials can be sent to the Family of Marilyn Swanson, 202 W. Williams St. Dunkerton, Iowa 50626.