Herman Sylvester Wilkes January 13, 1931 – January 19, 2012

  Herman Sylvester Wilkes, 81, of Knoxville, Iowa, passed away Thursday, January 19, 2012. He was born to Myron and Lola (Bowery) Wilkes on January 13, 1931, in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Herman graduated from Knoxville high school, class of 1950. He served in the United States Army from 1951 to 1953 during the Korean War.

On December 31, 1950 in Knoxville Herman married Regena Pauline Des Camp. They were married for 61 years and blessed with two children, Cathy and Connie.

After his service Herman farmed for 20 years at Ellston, Iowa. After farming, he worked as a park officer for Robert’s Creek Park for 21 years. Herman was very active all his life. He enjoyed his family; he was a Knoxville American Legion member and he enjoyed woodworking and the Iowa Hawkeyes football and basketball.

Herman is survived by his wife, Regena Wilkes of Knoxville, Iowa; his two daughters, Cathy (Kenny) Schaefer of Diagonal, Iowa and Connie (Steve) Williams of Knoxville, Iowa; five grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; one sister, Catherine (Robert) Mylod of Delaware, plus other relatives.

He is preceded in death by his parents and two brothers, David and Myron Wilkes, Jr.

Services were conducted on January 24, 2012 at the Winfield Funeral Home in Knoxville with Swann Juline officiating. Musical selections were ‘One More Day’ and ‘It’s A Wonderful Life.’

Herman was laid to rest in the Graceland Cemetery in Knoxville.