Barkema, Murray Richard (1953-2022)

BARKEMA, NELSON, JOHNSON, HERMANN

Posted By: Debbie Greenfield (email)
Date: 3/10/2023 at 10:05:42

South Hamilton Record News
Jewell, Iowa
July 27, 2022

Murray Richard Barkema, son of Richard G Barkema and Lorris (Nelson) Barkema was born November 28, 1953 on his grandfather’s farm near Jewell, Iowa. He attended South Hamilton Community Schools in Jewell until a family move took them to New Virginia, Iowa where he graduated from Interstate 35 Community Schools in 1972. That summer Murray and his high school friends backpacked through Europe, whetting his appetite for travel. While attending Central College in Pella, Iowa, Murray was accepted for a semester studies program in Vienna, Austria, a city he immediately fell in love with. He earned his B.A. (Central College) and M.A. (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) degrees and taught Art and German in Armstrong, Iowa, and Fairmont, Minnesota respectively. While in Fairmont, he also taught a group of adult learners who showed him how to enjoy life and became his life-long friends.

In 1982, his dream was realized and Murray moved to Vienna, where he spent the next 40 years. He served as Director of Central College’s Vienna Studies Program, introducing students to European history, culture, and the German language. Next he served as Head of the Business English Department at the University of Applied Sciences in Vienna and most recently as an in-company Business English trainer for Zurich Academy Austria. As an Iowa farm boy whose father was a row-crop and livestock farmer and later a Farmer’s Insurance Agent, Murray was proud of leading business English workshops for the Austrian Agriculture Insurance industry, among a wide range of other business English clients.

Murray was preceded in death by his father, Richard, nephew Zachary Barkema, and brother-in-law Steven Johnson.

He is survived by his mother, Lorris; sister Marcy Johnson of Story City, Iowa; brother Marshall (Jolene) Barkema of Ankeny, Iowa; nieces Tricia Johnson (John Ramirez) of Oak Park, Illinois, and Brooke (Steve) Hermann of Story City, Iowa; nephew Chris (Kelly) Johnson of Ankeny, Iowa and five great nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held at a later date in Vienna, Austria. Condolences may be sent to his mother, Lorris Barkema, 812 Cedar Place #321, Story City, IA 50248.