POTGETER, George 1897-1975

POTGETER, KRUSE

Posted By: Tammy (email)
Date: 9/23/2021 at 09:43:01

George Potgeter, Longtime Area Grain Dealer, Dead

Funeral services were held Saturday afternoon from the Steamboat Rock Presbyterian Church for George Potgeter, well-known area businessman who died Wednesday night following a prolonged illness in the Presbyterian Home in Ackley. He was 77 years old.

The Rev. Daryl deNeui officiated with interment in the Steamboat Rock cemetery. Pallbearers were Paul Eckhoff, Larry Williams, Ben VanHove, Vernon Stahl, Stan Caldwell and Mark Bessman, and caring for flowers were Mrs. Doris Ruppelt and Miss Marie Eilers. Mrs. Orville Ascher and Mrs. James McDonald were vocalists, accompanied at the organ by Mrs. Leland Pieters. Arrangements were handled by the Andrle and Creps Funeral Home of Eldora.

George Potgeter was born April 12, 1897, to Henry and Henderika Potgeter of Steamboat Rock. He graduated from Steamboat Rock high school and attended the University of Dubuque, where he acquired a love for reading that developed into a lifetime hobby.

In the spring of 1918 he entered the Army Air Corps, stationed in Texas, and was discharged at the end of the war. For a short time after his return he operated the lumber business which at that time was located on main street in Steamboat Rock.

In 1919, Mr. Potgeter entered the grain business which his father, Henry Potgeter, had acquired in 1889. When his father retired in 1929, he took over the business and in 1935 purchased an elevator in Wellsburg, which is now under the management of his son, James. The Steamboat Rock grain and lumber operation is managed by his other son, Edwin.

The grain and feed business was his lifetime occupation until declining health forced his retirement in 1970. He was involved in grain and lumber trade associations at the county, state and national level and as an active member, regularly attended meetings in Washington, D.C.

On June 14, 1924, he married Lydia Kruse, and the couple moved into the residence which became their permanent home in Steamboat Rock. Varied interests led to his becoming an active citizen in the community. He joined the Presbyterian church in which he served as trustee and later as elder. During the 1920's and 1930's he served as Steamboat Rock mayor and spent several terms on the school board. He was recently issued a lifetime membership in the American Legion. He also belonged to the Masonic Lodge and Shrine and through widening business interests became an active member of the Eldora Rotary Club.

Surviving are his wife, Lydia; two sons, James of Steamboat Rock and Edwin of Eldora; two granddaughters, Renee Diane of Des Moines and Jami Maja of Steamboat Rock; three sisters, Sophia Rowan and Fannie Potgeter of Steamboat Rock and Alice Potgeter of St. Paul, Minn.; and one brother, Fred, of Rockford, Ill.

--The Grundy Register/Wellsburg Herald (Grundy Center, Iowa), 23 January 1975, Section two, page 1

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