NEESSEN, Earl W. 1892-1949

NEESSEN, GEERDES

Posted By: Tammy (email)
Date: 9/11/2021 at 07:19:07

Funeral Services For Earl Neessen Held At Tipton Tuesday Morning

Funeral services were held Tuesday morning at 10:30 at the Presbyterian Church in Tipton for Earl Neessen who died unexpectedly Saturday at his home. Death was due to a heart attack. Services were in charge of Rev. Ferguson and burial was in the Tipton cemetery.

Mr. Neessen, 57, was a son of Mrs. W. T. Neessen of Wellsburg. Following his graduation from the Steamboat Rock High school he had the telephone exchange at Wellsburg in conjunction with the postoffice in which capacities he served for a number of years. He was married to the former Gertie Geerdes of Wellsburg and in 1928 moved to Tipton where he owned and operated the telephone exchange since that time.

Surviving are the widow; two daughters, Lois and Frances; the mother and one brother, Ben Neessen of Wellsburg.

About forty from Wellsburg attended the services.

--Wellsburg Herald (Wellsburg, Iowa), 3 March 1949

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Earl W. Neessen Dies Suddenly

Earl W. Neessen, who spent much of his active life in Wellsburg, died very suddenly at his home in Tipton, Iowa, about seven o'clock Saturday morning. Mrs. Neessen, who was first to awaken, heard the clock strike seven and she told her husband that it was time to get up. He was stricken about the time she called him and was unable to give her a clear answer. She became alarmed and called a doctor, but Mr. Neessen had died before the doctor arrived. His health previous to the fatal heart attack had been good and he applied himself to his business daily. He was 57 years old on the 12th of January.

The news of Mr. Neessen's sudden death came as a severe shock to his relatives here and to his old friends.

Was Born at Steamboat Rock
Mr. Neessen was a son of Mr. and Mrs. Walter T. Neessen. He was born in Steamboat Rock, Jan. 12th, 1892. Six years later he came with his parents to Wellsburg. Later he returned to Steamboat Rock to complete the high school course there. Wellsburg at that time had no high school. Thirty years ago this coming June, he and Gertrude Geerdes were married and began housekeeping here immediately thereafter.

Was Postmaster Eight Years
Mr. Neessen early in his life became interested in electrical work and owned and operated an electrical store here for some time. He was for a time employed in the Wellsburg Telephone Exchange and later purchased the exchange and operated it for several years.

In 1914 he was appointed postmaster under the administration of Woodrow Wilson and he held that position for eight years. After retiring from the postal service he devoted his entire time to the Telephone Exchange. He sold the exchange twenty years ago to the Iowa State Telephone Company.

Shortly after disposing of his business here he accepted a position as the manager of the Iowa Telephone Company's Exchange at Tipton. He was highly successful in this work and had continually remained with the same company. In late years he was the company's District manager, supervising seven exchanges owned by the company. He built one of the finest homes in Tipton for his family.

Funeral Services Tuesday
Funeral services were held at 10:30 on Tuesday in the Presbyterian church at Tipton. Burial was in the Tipton cemetery.

Surviving are the wife and two daughters, Lois who is an instructor in Economics in a high school in Illinois, and Frances, who is a senior at the State Teachers college. Other surviving relatives are his mother, Mrs. W. T. Neessen, and one brother, Ben, from Wellsburg.

--The Grundy Register (Grundy Center, Iowa), 3 March 1949

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