John Panzer 1880-1960

PANZER, JEFFRIES

Posted By: Merllene Andre Bendixen (email)
Date: 11/25/2010 at 13:44:36

John Panzer, 80, Dies at His Home

John Panzer, 80, retired railroad signalman, died last night at his home, 703 N. 7th St., after a lingering illness.

Born Jan. 18, 1880 on a farm near Iowa City, he was the son of Martin and Anna Panzer. As a boy he lived in that community and received his education in the schools of that area.

Too young to enlist for the Spanish-American War, Mr. Panzer enlisted in the United States Marines on Dec. 6, 1905 and served with them for four years. During his service he was on guard duty in San Francisco, Calif., at the time of the disastrous earth quake.

In 1909, he started work for the Northwestern Railway, and after four years, transferred to the Rock Island where he continued to work until his retirement in 1942. He was a signalman on the Cedar Rapids-Watertown Division.

Mr. Panzer was married Sept. 10, 1942 to Mrs. Mae Jeffries at Ceylon, Minn. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Panzer lived in Ringsted where he looked after his farming interest until the fall of 1943 when they moved to the present home here in Estherville.

Surviving Mr. Panzer’s death are his widow, four brothers, Frank, James and Edward Panzer, all of Solon, and William of Washington, Iowa., also several nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, one sister and one brother.

Funeral services for Mr. Panzer are to be Thursday at 11 a.m. at the Sandin-Fuhrman Funeral Home, the Rev. Fred W. Ortmeyer officiating. Burial will be in Oak Hill cemetery.

Friends may call at the funeral home from Wednesday noon until time of the services. The casket will not be opened after the service.

The family of Mr. Panzer has started a memorial fund for the Emmet County Cancer Society. (Estherville Daily News, Estherville, IA, September 6, 1960)