Leroy Henry Graesser, 18 Jun 1921 – 09 Jun 2013

GRAESSER, BERGER, PARSON, SHOUP, ALBADARIN

Posted By: Sandy Ficken (email)
Date: 7/11/2013 at 15:22:15

Leroy Graesser, 91

Funeral service for Leroy H. Graesser, 91, Amana, formerly of West Amana, were held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, June 12, at the Middle Amana Community Church. He died Sunday, June 9, 2013, at St. Luke’s Hospital, Cedar Rapids.

Church elder Harold Pitz officiated at the service.

Burial was in the West Amana Cemetery with military honors.

Memorials may be made to the Amana Church Society or St. Luke’s Hospice.

Kloster Funeral Home, Marengo, was in charge of arrangements. Online condolences may be left at www.klosterfuneralhome.com.

Leroy Henry Graesser was born June 18, 1921, in Davenport, the son of Henry Sr. and Frieda Berger Graesser. He graduated from Amana High School and attended Iowa State University, Ames. He went to work as a welder at Amana Refrigeration. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II as a member of the Coast Guard. He returned to Amana Refrigeration following his discharge from the service.

He married Betty Parson June 6, 1953, at the Little Brown Church, Nashua. In 1955, he became farm manager of the West Amana Farms. He eventually became manager for all the Amana Farms, a position he held for 30 years.

Following his retirement, he began building scale models of historic Amana buildings. He actively volunteered in the community and was a tour guide for many of the colony visitors.

He was a member of the Amana Church Society, a former member of the Amana School Board and served on the Amana Society Board of Directors. He was a founding member of the Amana Heritage Society and served on the 1988 World Ag Expo committee.

The Graesser family would like to thank the staff of St. Luke’s Hospice for the wonderful care and compassion extended to Leroy in his final days.

Graesser is survived by his wife, Betty; two sons, John and Jody, Citrus Heights, Calif., and Randy and Marcia, South Amana; one daughter, Susan and Mike Shoup, South Amana; three grandchildren, Justin and Joshua Graesser and Erin Shoup and fiance Nash Albadarin, and one brother, Henry “Heine” Graesser, Amana.

He was preceded in death by his parents and one brother, Elmer.

The Williamsburg Journal Tribune, Iowa County Obituaries – 13 Jun 2013
Published in The Gazette June 11, 2013.