John Wilbur Fowler 1886-1958

FOWLER, DOERFFEL, DORFFEL, LAIDIG, LEWIS, PHILLIPS, MIX, MORTIMORE, SCHUBERT, HALBUR, BAUMUNK, SMART, MCKINLEY

Posted By: Merllene Andre Bendixen (email)
Date: 8/27/2013 at 19:35:20

Rites to Be Tuesday for John Fowler
Funeral services for John Wilbur Fowler, 71, will be held at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Immanuel Lutheran Church here with the Rev. William P. Henline officiating.

Mr. Fowler, an interior decorator in the Estherville community for the past 35 years, died at 10:25 a.m. Saturday at University Hospital, Iowa City. He had been suffering from asthma since 1950 and was hospitalized at Iowa City for a week before his death. Mr. Fowler was hospitalized here for three weeks prior to going to Iowa City.

He was born Sept. 22, 1886 at Cloverdale, Putnam County, Ind., the son of David and Mariah Ann Fowler. Mr. Fowler received his education at Cloverdale.

On Aug. 30, 1913 he was married to Martha Doerffel at Decatur, Ill. The couple moved to Estherville in 1923 where he worked as an interior decorator until 1950 when he retired because of his health. He was a member of the Immanuel Lutheran Church here and belonged to the Modern Woodmen of America lodge.

Survivors include his wife, five sons, nine daughters, 51 grandchildren, two great grandchildren, one brother and three sisters. He was preceded in death by his parents, four sisters and four brothers.

The sons are Herman of Sioux City, Hans of Estherville, James of Cincinnati, Ohio, Charles of Salina, Kans. and Max who is presently stationed at Mather Air Force Base, Sacramento, Calif.

Daughters include Mrs. Ernest (Daisy) Laidig of Estherville, Mrs. Dale (Louise) Lewis of Terril, Mrs. Arnold (Mildred) Laidig of Estherville, Mrs. Lyle (Anna Mary) Lewis of Anoka, Minn., Mrs. Merle (Nellie) Phillips of Wendell, Minn., Mrs. Gordon (Minna) Mix of Estherville, Mrs. Warren (Pearl) Mortimore Sr. of Spirit Lake, Mrs. Donald (Dolly) Schubert of Estherville and Mrs. Elmer (Evelyn) Halbur of Nicollet, Minn.

Surviving brother and sisters are Mrs. James Baumunk of Sequim, Wash., Thomas N. Fowler of Fairmont, Mrs. Calvin Smart of Decatur, Ill. and Mrs. William McKinley of Cincinnati.

Mr. Fowler will be interred at East Side Cemetery here. The body will lie in state at Sternborg’s Funeral Home from this afternoon until 9 a.m. tomorrow. (Estherville Daily News, Estherville, IA, January 13, 1958)

John Fowler Was Native of Indiana
John Wilbur Fowler, son of David Ashbury and Mariah Ann York Fowler, was born Sept. 22, 1886, at Cloverdale, Ind., and died Jan. 11, 1958, at the University Hospital in Iowa City.

Mr. Fowler grew to manhood in the Cloverdale vicinity. He was married to Martha Doerffel of Berlin, Germany, at Decatur, Ill., on Aug. 30, 1913 and moved to Iowa in 1922. Fourteen children were born to this union.

Mr. Fowler was baptized into the Christian faith on Sunday, Jan. 5, 1958 at the Holy Family Hospital in Estherville.

He is survived by his wife, Martha, and 14 children. Herman of Sioux City, Hans of Estherville, James of Cincinnati, Ohio, Charles of Salina, Kan., Max of Mather Air Force Base at Sacramento, Calif., Mrs. Dale (Louise) Lewis, Mrs. Arnold (Mildred) Laidig, Mrs. Don (Dolly) Schubert, all of Estherville; Mrs. Lyle (Anna Mary) Lewis of Isanti, Minn., Mrs. Merle (Nellie) Phillips of Wendell, Minn., Mrs. Gordon (Minna) Mix of Armstrong, Mrs. Warren (Pearl) Mortimore St. of Spirit Lake, and Mrs. Elmer (Evelyn) Halbur of Nicollet, Minn.; 44 grandchildren; and three great grandchildren.

Also surviving are one brother, Thomas Fowler, of Fairmont, Minn.; four sisters, Mrs. Thomas Tumilson of Rockford, Mrs. Calvin Smart of Decatur, Ill., Mrs. Frances Baumunk of Sequim, Wash., and Mrs. William McKinley of Cincinnati, Ohio; and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, four brothers, three sisters and one grandson.

Burial was in East Side cemetery at Estherville. (Estherville Daily News, Estherville, IA, January 17, 1958)