Brecher, Chester "Chet" (1940-2007)
BRECHER, LENZ, GAFFNEY, EVANS, WARNER, WEST
Posted By: Paul Nagy (email)
Date: 4/12/2010 at 11:28:01
Chester “Chet” Brecher - June 30, 1940 - Mar. 29, 2007
Chester (Chet) Arthur Brecher, Jr., 66, husband, father, step-father, grandfather, and prominent Storm Lake farmer, developer, and conservationist, died at 7:55 a.m. Thursday, March 29, 2007, at Buena Vista Regional Medical Center following a prolonged illness.
Chet was born on June 30, 1940, in Storm Lake to Chester Arthur (Doc) and Leona Lenz. He graduated from Storm Lake High School in 1958 and attended Iowa State College and Buena Vista College. He has 2 children Teresa (Terri) Ann Gaffney and Peter Douglas Brecher and two step-children Timothy (Tim) J. Evans and John D. Evans.
In the early 1960’s, Chet was a sheep buyer for Swift & Co. in Des Moines. He later moved with his family to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where he was a cattle buyer for John Morrell & Co. and for R.Q. Line Livestock Company
In 1969, Chet moved with his family to Alta where he fed cattle and farmed for many years. He married Sally Evans in 1989 and welcomed two stepsons, Tim and John Evans, into his family.
An active member of Storm Lake’s Industrial Development Board for many years, Chet was prominent on the issue of soil erosion in Storm Lake. He completed a major water protection project on Episcopal Creek by creating a three-acre pond that serves as a settling basin, trapping sediment and water as it flows from the creek to Storm Lake.
Chet was an avid hunter and fisherman and could entertain friends and family for hours with stories like those of the deer he shot at his Alta farm or from his fly-fishing adventures in Michigan and out West. He was a devoted grandfather. Chet is and has been known for his ornery sense of humor.
A talented equestrian who enjoyed watching westerns on TV, Chet recently finished building his cowboy retreat, or “bunk house,” by his pasture land in Storm Lake. There he could sit in his office chair and gaze out the window at his much-loved horses.
He is survived by his wife, Sally Reimann Brecher of Newark, New Jersey; his two children: Terri Gaffney of Anthem, Arizona, and Peter Brecher of Des Moines; four grandchildren: Todd and Caneel Gaffney and Danielle and Ben Evans; step-sons: Tim Evans and his wife Barbara of Warrensburg, New York, and John Evans of Columbia, South Carolina; a sister, Mary Lou Warner and her husband Bill, of Scottsdale, Arizona; a brother, Douglas Brecher, of Fort Collins, Colorado, and nieces: Mary Beth Warner and Carrie West, nephews: Christopher Brecher and Scott Warner and extended family members.
Funeral Services will be held Monday, April 2, 2007, at 10:30 a.m. at the Lakeside Presbyterian Church in Storm Lake with Reverend Duane Queen officiating. Burial will be in Woodlawn Cemetery in Alta. The Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake is in charge of the arrangements. A memorial fund has been established for the Buena Vista County Hospice organization.
Friends may call from 2:00 – 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 1, 2007, at the Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake where family will be present 2:00-4:00pm and 6:00-8:00pm.
Copyright © 2007, Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home
Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home
Buena Vista Obituaries maintained by LaVern Velau.
WebBBS 4.33 Genealogy Modification Package by WebJourneymen