HANTSBARGER Jr., Wilbur Lyle

HANTSBARGER, WARBURTON, CUTHRELL, SCHLUETER, LETHCOE, STRONG, ZINN, MINOR, VANDER MOLEN, TANAKA, THOMPSON

Posted By: Kent Thompson (email)
Date: 4/11/2009 at 10:17:27

Hawarden, Iowa- Wilbur L. Hantsbarger, Jr. 82, of Hawarden, Iowa, died Tuesday, March 24, 2009, at the Hawarden Community Hospital.

Funeral service will be 1 p.m. Friday at the Trinity Lutheran Church in Hawarden with Rev. Todd Bunge officiating. Burial will follow in the Grace Hill Cemetery with military rites by the Hawarden VFW and American Legion. Visitation will begin at noon Thursday, with the family present from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and a prayer service at 7 p.m. at the Porter Funeral Home in Hawarden. Condolences may be sent to www.porterfuneralhomes.com .

Wilbur L. Hantsbarger, Jr. was born June 2, 1926 in Cherokee, Iowa, the son of Wilbur and Winifred (Warburton) Hantsbarger. He graduated from Grand Meadow School in 1944 and served with the US Navy from May 1944 to May of 1946, serving in Japan.

Wilbur married Vera Cuthrell on September 7, 1947. The couple had two children, Richard and Loren. Wilbur was the postmaster for 39 years in Meriden, Iowa. He served on the Meriden Fire Department for 24 years and was also the town treasurer beginning in 1974. Vera passed away May 20, 1973.

Wilbur later married Sally Schlueter on February 14, 1979 in Hawarden, Iowa. They lived in Hawarden where Wilbur worked part-time at Agri Steel Equipment.

He was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church. Since 1945, Wilbur has been a member of the American Legion, and, most recently, a member of the Hawarden American Legion. Wilbur enjoyed fishing, boating, watch making, doing crossword puzzles, restoring old cars, and especially loved family activities.

He is survived by his wife, Sally of Hawarden; son, Richard (Kathy) Hantsbarger of Hudson, Wisconsin; son, Loren Hantsbarger and special friend Jenny of White River, South Dakota; daughter, Valerie (Dave) Lethcoe of Sioux City, Iowa; daughter, Vicki (Jon) Strong of Hawarden; daughter, Lori Vander Molen of Omaha, Nebraska; two brothers, William Hantsbarger of Fort Collins, Colorado, and Paul (Irene) Hantsbarger of Des Moines, Iowa; 13 grandchildren, Chad Minor, Amanda Hantsbarger, Bradley Hantsbarger, Matthew Hantsbarger, Heidi Hantsbarger, Heath Hantsbarger, Nikki (Lethcoe) Zinn and husband Billy, Cody Lethcoe, Jesse Strong, Jonny Strong, Traci (Vander Molen) Tanaka and husband Bryce, Tonya Vander Molen, and Cory Vander Molen.

He was preceded in death by his parents; first wife Vera; brother, Raymond Hantsbarger; sister, Lois Thompson; sister-in-law, Rachel Hantsbarger; and granddaughter, Heather Hantsbarger.

[Source: family email communication]