Garth Charles Bigbee, 01 Aug 1931 - 04 Apr 2014

BIGBEE, ECKERT, STEELE, SCOTT, BIGBEE-HANSEN, STORCK, WEENINK, MENNINGA, VAN DYK, VANDER HEIDEN

Posted By: Sandy Ficken (email)
Date: 4/10/2014 at 15:34:29

Garth Bigbee, 82

Funeral service for Garth C. Bigbee, 82, Marengo, will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, April 10, at First Presbyterian Church, Marengo. He died Friday, April 4, 2014, at Marengo Memorial Hospital.

The Rev. Anni Mingin and the Rev. Diane Miller will officiate at the service.

Burial will be in the Marengo Cemetery.

Visitation will be from 3:30 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 9, at Kloster Funeral Home, Marengo.

Memorials may be made to First Presbyterian Church, Marengo Memorial Hospital Foundation, Iowa Valley School District Foundation or the charity of the donor’s choice.

Online condolences may be left at www.klosterfuneralhome.com.

Garth Charles Bigbee was born Aug. 1, 1931, in Williamsburg, the son of Lon Charles and Erma Lorene Eckert Bigbee. He attended Marengo schools and graduated from Marengo High School in 1949. He received a bachelor of science degree in animal husbandry in 1953 from Iowa State College, Ames. He was a member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity.

He married Jane Ann Steele June 28, 1953, at Memorial Presbyterian Church, Cherokee.

He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1953 to 1956. He was co-pilot on a KC-97 aerial tanker refueling B-47 bombers in mid-air. Following training at bases in Malden, Mo.; Enid, Okla.; San Antonio, Texas, and West Palm Beach, Fla., he was stationed at Smokey Hill AFB, Saline, Kan., a SAC (Strategic Air Command) base, with duty also in England and Newfoundland.

Following his discharge from the Air Force, Garth returned home and worked with his parents on Gar-Lon Farms, raising Black Angus cattle from 1956 to 1970. In 1959 he received the Cedar Rapids Jaycees’ Outstanding Young Farmer of the Year. He belonged to the Beef Producers and Cedar Valley Farm Business Association, working for the latter for several years.

In 1970, he went into the insurance business, specializing in farm estate planning. He earned CLU (Chartered Life Underwriters) and ChFC (Chartered Financial Consultants) professional designations. With four others, the partnership RBOZ was formed. They established Insurance Service Corporation of Iowa in Cedar Rapids, where he worked until retirement.

He was an active 55-year member of First Presbyterian Church, Marengo, where he was currently serving on its session and on which he had previously served several terms and also as a past president of the congregation. He was a member of the Hymn Bells choir.

He was a member of Marengo American Legion Post 76, Iowa County Historical Society and was a former member and past president of Marengo Rotary Club.

He enjoyed spending time with his family, working with his dog, fishing, hunting birds and mushrooms.

Bigbee is survived by his wife of 60 years, Jane; their children, G. Gregory (Verla) Bigbee, Pella; Ann (Charles Scott) Bigbee, Marengo; Janice (Bill) Bigbee-Hansen, Renton, Wash.; Jennifer (Ray) Storck, Scottsdale, Ariz., and Jenny (David Weenink) Cals, AFS exchange student from The Netherlands; grandchildren, Morgan and Dakota Bigbee, Pella; Catherine Scott, New York, N.Y.; Jessica Scott, Des Moines; Will and Sam Bigbee-Hansen, Renton; Rebecca Storck, Pullman, Wash., and Ryan Storck, Scottsdale; step-grandchildren, Dustyn (Molly) Menninga, Des Moines; LaCosta (Jeremy) Van Dyk, Pella, and Heather (Gary) Vander Heiden, Knoxville, and also Thomas and Louise Weenink, Amsterdam; great-grandchildren, Zarah, Ariana, Madyson, Alexander and Josiah Van Dyk, Pella, and Gage, Brady, Kjersten and Jace Vander Heiden, Knoxville; one brother-in-law, Dan (Sue) Steele, Westby, Wis., and one sister-in-law, Bernice Steele, Spirit Lake.

He was preceded in death by his father, in 1984; his mother, in 1999; his parents-in-law, Richard and Catherine Steele; one brother-in-law, Thomas Steele, and one sister-in-law, Jane Steele.

The Williamsburg Journal Tribune, 10 Apr 2014
The Gazette, 07 Apr 2014