Area Obituaries

BERNARD ANDREW SOBOTKA Bernard Andrew Sobotka passed away peacefully on May 26, 2017 at Otterbein Lebanon Senior Lifestyle Community. He was born on March 8, 1927 in Diagonal, Iowa to Andrew Joseph and Eva Marie (Driskell) Sobotka. Bernard grew up in Diagonal and graduated from Diagonal High School in 1945. During high school he was an…

JERRY JAMES “JIM” GEORGE Jerry James “Jim” George was born in Union County, Iowa on October 26, 1939 to Arthur James and Geraldine (Strange) George.  His family lived in Parkville, Missouri and Illinois before moving back to Diagonal, Iowa area where he started kindergarten and graduated with his class of 1958.  During his high school years…

VIRGINIA DOLORES POWELL Virginia Dolores Powell, 90, of Mount Ayr, formerly of Blockton, died May 20, 2017, at the Mount Ayr Health Care Center. Virginia was born October 9, 1926, in Brooklyn, New York to Lloyd and Lillian Waldron.  After graduation from high school, she worked in a military defense plant during World War II.  Two…

ELIZABETH J. WELSH Elizabeth J. Welsh was born May 6, 1937 in Creston, Iowa and passed away on May 8, 2017 at the age of 80 in Blair, Nebraska. Elizabeth was preceded in death by husband, Robert Welsh, brother Jim Jobe, and sister, Judy Pottorff. She is survived by daughter, Cindy Lewis, Alvin, TX, son,…

DONALD LAVERN CLOUSE Donald Lavern Clouse was born September 2, 1930 in Ringgold County, Iowa, the son of Cecil L. and Faye (Gardner) Clouse. He passed away on Tuesday, May 2, 2017 at the Heritage House in Atlantic, Iowa, at the age of 86. Donald grew up in Ringgold County and graduated from Tingley High School…

BUDDY DEAN POWELL Buddy Dean Powell was born April 19, 1958 at home in Mount Ayr, Iowa to Nina Ruth (Holtzman) Powell and Rolland Dean Powell. He graduated from Mount Ayr High School in 1976. Buddy worked in maintenance for Worth County Convalescent Center in Grant City, Missouri, Clearview Home in Mount Ayr and Mount…

ROGER EUGENE GROSE Roger Eugene Grose was born October 22, 1936 and passed May 3, 2017. He left behind his loving family and friends. He will be greatly missed by all. At his request no service will be held. Sincere heartfelt thank you for all the condolences.

JOHN BRICE REASONER John Brice Reasoner, son of Frank Brice and Mary Louise (Peterson) Reasoner, was born October 28, 1949 at Osceola, IA. John’s aptitude and love of all things mechanical were developed at an early age working alongside his father, Frank, at Reasoner’s Garage. He and his brother Robert refurbished motor scooters, and later motorcycles…

PAUL DRAKE Paul W. Drake was born May 14, 1933 the third child of Warren and Mary (Ferber) Drake. His childhood was spent in Ringgold County, graduating from Mount Ayr High School in 1951. On November 14, 1953, he married Mildred (Mickey) Reynolds in Mount Ayr, Iowa. To this union, three children were born; Debra,…

LANNY HOWIE Lanny Howie, 66, of Oelwein passed away on April 29, 2017 at Mercy Hospital in Oelwein. Visitation will be from 4-7 p.m. on Thursday May 4, 2017 at the Geilenfeld Funeral Home in Oelwein. Services will begin at 11:00 a.m. on Friday May 5, 2017 at the Geilenfeld Funeral Home. In lieu of…

  IRILENE AND NELSON DENNEY Irilene Denney was born on the easily-remembered date of April 19, 1919. She was born before women had the right to vote and lived long enough to have the opportunity to vote for a woman for President. Nobody will know for whom she voted but the point is that she saw…