Cowell, George W. (1928-2017)
COWELL, MELCHER, WELSH, REDIG, WILLIAMS, NEWMAN, RING, WENDEL, SCHROEDER
Posted By: Paul Nagy (email)
Date: 8/2/2017 at 19:17:54
George W. Cowell
September 24, 1928 – July 22, 2017(?)George William Cowell, a son of David Hildreth and Wilma Merle (Melcher) Cowell, was born on September 24, 1928, on the family farm, rural Monona, Iowa. He attended Big Foot country school in Linton Township, Allamakee County, and Waterville High School, graduating in 1946. He worked on the family farm with his father and helped other area farmers as needed.
On November 2, 1952, George married (Betty) Joanne Welsh at the Evangelical United Brethren Church in Monona. Thirteen months after their wedding, George entered the Army. While he was stationed at Monterey, California, Betty joined him there for several months, but when he was sent overseas, she returned to Monona. After his honorable discharge in November of 1955, they farmed north of Monona with his parents, then at Oelwein, Iowa, and Neillsville, Wisconsin, before returning to the family farm. In 1965, they moved to Cedar Rapids where George went to work for Link-Belt Speeder, a job he held for almost twenty years before the plant closed. He, then, worked for Jim Young Janitorial Services. Later, he worked in maintenance at United Fire and Casualty. They remained in Cedar Rapids until 1987 when they moved to Storm Lake where he took a maintenance job with the United Methodist Church.
Family meant everything to George and Jo. Indeed, they opened their home to many of their kids’ friends, who also called them Dad and Mom. After retiring from the church, George worked part-time for Merrill Manufacturing in Storm Lake where he remained for twenty years, retiring in 2015 at age 87. He loved his family. Indeed, he enjoyed his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and all those that called him Grandpa. An avid card player, he, also, liked reading and watching westerns. In addition, he loved his garden, and he had a lifelong love for baseball. He enjoyed fishing sharing his apple butter with anyone he came across. Moreover, he cherished his role as family historian, and he was always pleased to share the past with those in the present. For that reason, he was thrilled to have taken the Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., in September of 2015.
Preceding George in death were three infant sisters: Mae, Gloria, and Maxine; his parents; his wife, Jo, on January 22, 2011; two brothers, Duane and Bruce Cowell; and a nephew, Dwight Cowell.
Those left to cherish his memory include his daughter, Pat, and her husband, Roger Redig, of Aurelia, and his son, Tom Cowell, of Storm Lake; his grandchildren: Jazmine Anna, Lakota, Simon, and Thomas Cowell; Leah, and her husband, Alex Newman; Roman Redig; and Rachel, and her husband, Simon Williams; six great-grandchildren: Kellan Cowell; Chael, Chandler, and Camryn Newman; and Erica and Riley Williams; a sister, Marcella, and her husband, Kenneth Wendel, of Postville, Iowa, and a sister-in-law, Carol, and her husband, Dan Schroeder, of La Crosse, Wisconsin; as well as nieces, nephews, other relatives, friends, and neighbors.
Funeral services for George Cowell, 88, of Storm Lake, will be held at 10:30 A.M. Tuesday, July 25, 2017, at the K.C. Hall in Storm Lake with Pastor Missy Brown officiating. Burial will follow in the Storm Lake Cemetery. Visitation will be Monday from 4:00 until 7:00 P.M. with the family present at the K.C. Hall. The Redig Funeral Home in Aurelia is overseeing the arrangements.
Redig Funeral Home, Aurelia, Iowa, 2017
Buena Vista Obituaries maintained by Lynn Diemer-Mathews.
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