Louis Reinhardt Marz, 29 Oct 1923 - 18 Nov 2017

MARZ, KOLB, BERGER, BRANDT, BURGHER, CERWICK, SIMMONDS, YUNEK, DITTRICH

Posted By: Sandy Ficken (email)
Date: 8/15/2019 at 09:28:06

Celebration of life service for Louis “Louie” R. Marz, 94, La Cruces, N.M., formerly of Homestead, will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 14, at the Middle Amana Church, Middle Amana. He died peacefully at his home Saturday evening, Nov. 18, 2017.

Visitation will be held from 9 to 10 a.m. prior to the service.

Inurnment will be in the Homestead Cemetery with military honors and Masonic rites.
Memorials be mSW to the Amana Church Society, the Amana Heritage Society, or the Mesilla Valley Hospice.

Kloster Funeral Home, Marengo is assisting the family with arrangements. Online condolences may be left at www.klosterfuneralhome.com.

Louis Reinhardt Marz was born Oct. 29, 1923, in Homestead, the son of John Jacob Marz and Henrietta Kolb Marz. As a boy, he attended the Amana schools. Following graduation in 1941, he attended Coe College. He was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1943 where he served as an engineer. He completed civil engineering training at the Virginia Military Institute and was deployed overseas on his birthday in 1944 as part of the 282nd Engineering Combat Battalion. As the war was coming to an end, he was wounded from enemy fire while building a bridge at Echternach, Luxemburg, in 1945, and went on to receive the Purple Heart for the injury that almost took his life. He along with several hundred other servicemen from the greatest generation made the trip to Washington, D.C., 70 years later, as part of the Cedar Rapids Honor Flight program on Sept. 11, 2011.

Following his return to the states after World War II, Louis completed his education at Iowa State University where he received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. He went on to work at Amana Refrigeration, Inc. as a design engineer his entire working career.

He married Dorothy Berger on Nov. 12, 1949. The couple later divorced.

Louis married Caroline Brandt on Jan. 16, 1987. The couple made their home in both Homestead and Las Cruces, N.M.

Louis’ lifetime passions included being a founding member of the Amana Heritage Society and serving as an elder at the Amana Church.
Additionally, he was an active member of the Homestead Welfare Club, a 50-year member of the Masonic Lodge and the 32 degree Scottish Rite. His hobbies included teaching and playing bridge, tennis, crossword puzzles, ISU Cyclone football, traveling and caring for his beloved English Sheepdogs, most recently his “good girl” Roxie.

Following his retirement, Louis volunteered at the Amana Heritage Museum and the Farm and Ranch Museum in Las Cruces.

Louis is survived by his wife, Caroline; sister-in-law, Ellen Mae Marz; daughter Mary (Tom) Burgher, East Amana; son, Dr. Mark (Marti) Marz, Cedar Rapids; step-children, Alan Cerwick, San Antonio, Texas, and Brigitte Cerwick, Coppell, Texas; six grandchildren, Laura (Keith) Simmonds, Andrew (Stephanie) Marz, Liesl (Daniel) Yunek, Fritz Burgher, Mackenzie Cerwick and Justin Cerwick; and three great-grandchildren, Daniel and Anna Simmonds, and Everett Yunek.

He was preceded in death by his parents, a sister, Helen Dittrich, and a brother Fritz Marz.

The Journal Tribune, 11 Apr 2018
Initial Obituary - The Gazette, 10 Dec 2017

LOUIS 'LOUIE' REINHARDT MARZ
Homestead

Louis "Louie" Reinhardt Marz, 94, formerly of Homestead, Iowa, died peacefully at his home in Las Cruces, N.M., on Saturday evening, Nov. 18, 2017.
Celebration of Life service: 10 a.m. Saturday, April 14, 2018, Middle Amana Church, Middle Amana, Iowa. Visitation: 9-10 a.m. prior to the service. Inurnment will be in the Homestead Cemetery with military honors and Masonic Rites.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials be directed to the Amana Church Society, the Amana Heritage Society or the Mesilla Valley Hospice.

Kloster Funeral Home, Marengo, is assisting the family with arrangements.

The Gazette 08 Apr 2018