Hefel, Matthew Celeste 1925-2008

HEFEL, BAKULA, BRIMEYER, HARDY, HEALY, BUELOW, MOLLOY, STANGE, COOK, HABEL, HEIDERSCHEIT, GANSEMER, SCHMITT, GASSMAN, GLOCKNER, DECKER

Posted By: Barbara Gehlsen Nugent (email)
Date: 1/18/2014 at 22:51:05

Behr's Funeral Home obituaries online

Matthew C. Hefel

Matthew C. Hefel, age 83, of 42611 Heiderscheit Road, North Buena Vista, Iowa, died at 11:45 a.m. Monday, December 29, 2008, in the loving arms of Stella, his wife of 60 years, at the home of his son, M. Terry Hefel, at 13627 Surrey Lane, Dubuque.

Services will be at 11:00 a.m. Saturday at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, North Buena Vista, with the Rev. Marvin Bries officiating.

Burial will be in Immaculate Conception Cemetery.

Friends may call from 2:00 to 7:00 p.m. Friday at Behr Funeral Home, 1491 Main St., Dubuque. Friends also may call from 9:00 to 10:45 a.m. Saturday in the Parish Center. Members of the Knights of Columbus Council 4148, of Guttenberg, Iowa, will recite the rosary at 10:30 a.m. in the church.

Matthew Celeste Hefel was born on February 23, 1925, son of John J. and Rosetta Catherine (Bakula) Hefel, in the farmhouse he and Stella later raised their 11 children in.
He married Stella F. Brimeyer, daughter of Fred and Hilda Brimeyer, on September 29, 1948, at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, North Buena Vista, by the Rev. John Hemasath.

Matt farmed all his life on his family farm, retiring in 1987. Matt's father, John, was a pioneer in soil conservation. In the 1960s, Matt began contour farming, terracing and waterway control to maintain maximum soil conservation of the land. He took pride in his "weed free" farm; ask any of his children what they did on rainy days on the farm. Hint: shovels. Matt had a well known reputation for some of the finest homemade wines in eastern Iowa, which he proudly loved to share. His best recipes were passed to "his" chosen few. When it came to crappie fishing, Matt had built in GPS.

Matt was past president of the Balltown Lions Club, where he was a recipient of the Melvin Jones Award. He was a Grand Champion Euchre player in Clayton County. Matt sold Kussmaul/Dairyland Seed as one of their top leaders in sales. He was a member of the National Farmers Organization (NFO), working for fair farm market prices. He also was a member of the Eagles Club in Guttenberg and the Knights of Columbus 4148 Council. Matt participated in the Farmer Exchange, spending time in the former Soviet Union. Matt enjoyed being a weather spotter for the North Buena Vista-Holy Cross area.

Survivors: his wife, Stella;
8 children, Paulette (Frank) Hardy, of Sheridan, Mont.,
Jacquelyn (John) Healy, of Waukesha, Wis.,
M. Terry Hefel, of Dubuque,
Jean (Mike) Buelow, of Brookfield, Wis.,
Cynthia Molloy, of Littleton, Colo.,
Gerard "Skip" (Sara Marie) Hefel, of Dubuque,
Jan Jay "JJ" Hefel, of North Buena Vista,
Kerri Sue (Jeff) Stange, of Platteville, Wis.

Matt was proud of his children and all their accomplishments. He was a loving grandfather of 22 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren.

Matt is also survived by his sisters, Eleanor Cook, of Dubuque, Kathleen (Benny) Habel, of North Buena Vista, and Josephine Heiderscheit, of Dubuque; 2 sisters-in-law, Joann Hefel, of North Buena Vista, and Esther Hefel, of Dubuque; and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by 4 sons, Arlen Robert Hefel, in infancy, and Russell Edward Hefel, Ritchie Francis Hefel, Brad Allen Hefel; his parents; his sisters, Arlene Hefel, Marie (Adolph) Gansemer, Edwina (Clarence) Schmitt, Alvina (Cy) Gassman, Edith (Clarence) Glockner and Loretta (Lawrence) Decker; his brothers, Micky Hefel and John (Florence) Hefel; and 2 brothers-in-law, Charles Cook and Harold Heiderscheit.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to the Balltown Lions Club, Divine Word College and the Holy Cross-North Buena Vista Volunteer Fire Department.