George D Nieman

NIEMAN, KNICKERBOCKER

Posted By: Pat Frette (email)
Date: 6/4/2009 at 08:40:00

George D. Nieman, 98, a long-time resident of Boone, Iowa, and formerly of Manchester, Iowa passed away at the Eastern Star Masonic Home on May 15, 2009.
Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, May 20, at the Augustana Lutheran Church at 309 S. Greene Street in Boone. Rev. Dick Dahle will officiate. Visitation with the family present will be held Tuesday, May 19, in the Chapel of the Eastern Star Masonic Home in Boone from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., visitation continues on Wednesday, at the Augustana Lutheran Church from 9:00 a.m. to the time of service at 10:30 a.m.
Funeral services will also be held on Thursday, May 21, at the First Lutheran Church at 313 E. Fayette Street in Manchester, Iowa at 11:00 a.m. Rev. Dr. Jean Rabary will officiate.
Interment will be in the Oakland Cemetery in Manchester, Iowa on Thursday with Full Military Honors conducted at the graveside by the American Legion Post No. 45 of Manchester.
Mr. Nieman was born in Earlville, Iowa on April 5, 1911 to Elizabeth Bradke and Martin Nieman. He attended the Earlville schools and graduated from Earlville High School, where he was an outstanding baseball and basketball player. After graduating from the Cedar Rapids Business College, he worked as a bookkeeper and business manager for the Chevrolet dealership in Manchester, Iowa. That began a long relationship with Chevrolet and General Motors that lasted for almost fifty years.
On March 30, 1941, Mr. Nieman married Donna Marie Knickerbocker of Strawberry Point, Iowa. George loved Donna deeply and was devastated by her untimely death in March 1971, shortly before their thirtieth wedding anniversary. Together, they raised two sons, Donald and David, to whom they were devoted.
Shortly after the United States entered World War II, Mr. Nieman volunteered his services to the Army. After training at Camp McCoy in Wisconsin and Camp Sutton in North Carolina, he was sent overseas, landing at Oran in French North Africa in November 1942. He spent three years overseas, serving with Allied forces in North Africa and France and rising to the rank of staff sergeant before he returned to Donna in late 1945. While he was overseas, he and Donna corresponded almost daily, sharing news and planning for their life together after the war. Mr. Nieman often spoke fondly of his experiences overseas, the places he visited, the sights he saw, and, especially, the good friends he made.
After returning from France, he and Donna moved to Des Moines, where he accepted a position with the regional office of Chevrolet and subsequently became the business manager of Paul Manning Chevrolet, the largest Chevrolet dealer in the state. In 1954, he was enticed by Harold Vogler of Boone, Iowa to purchase the Chevrolet-Buick dealership in that community. For twenty years, the two operated a very successful business on the corner of Sixth and Boone streets. Their partnership was known for outstanding service, integrity, and generous support for the community, notably 4-H, the Boone County Fair, the YMCA, and local schools. Harold and George were close friends who lunched together nearly every day at the Lincoln Restaurant, sometimes joined by one of Mr. Nieman's sons, both of whom knew that dropping by the dealership close to noon would result in a lunch invitation.
In addition to his business activities, Mr. Nieman was active in the community. He was a devoted member of Augustana Lutheran Church, serving as president of the congregation, chair of the finance committee, and chair of the building committee when the congregation built the building that opened on South Greene Street in 1961. An avid golfer, Mr. Nieman was a member of the Boone Golf & Country Club for more than fifty years. While he played sparingly while in business, he was a fixture on the golf course during his retirement years. Until his ninety-fifth year, he played nearly every day during the summer and always chose to walk the course rather than use a cart. He loved the well-kept Boone Golf & Country Club and was especially fond of the links-style second nine holes that opened in 2002.
A fine centerfielder himself, Mr. Nieman had a life-long interest in baseball. He was a devoted New York Yankees fan his entire life, although the Chicago Cubs were a close second for his affections. He often traveled to Chicago, Minneapolis, New York, St. Louis, or Detroit to take in a professional game and attended World Series games in Milwaukee in 1957 and St. Louis in 1968.
After selling his business and retiring in 1976, Mr. Nieman enjoyed a vigorous and happy retirement. In August 1973, two years after Donna's tragic death, he married Naomi Peterson of Boone. They enjoyed a close and loving relationship that spanned more than thirty years. They traveled to visit family and spent several winters in Florida and Arizona. But they much preferred spending their time in Boone, a community they both loved. Boone News Republican