Louis Otto “Bud” Goetz 1917-2006

HEUN, GOETZ

Posted By: michael (email)
Date: 5/11/2006 at 17:11:28

Louis Otto “Bud” Goetz, formerly of 1324 Kirkwood Ave. and Legacy Point Care Center, died Wednesday, May 10, of lung cancer in the home of his daughter, Marilyn Gaffey.

Funeral services will be held 10:00 AM Tuesday, May 16 at St Mary’s Catholic Church, Iowa City, with Reverend Ken Kuntz officiating. Visitation at Lensing Funeral Home, 605 Kirkwood Ave, from 4-7 PM on Monday, May 15. Memorials may be directed to Hospice of Iowa City.

Bud was born Sept 10, 1917, to Anthony and Frances (Heun) Goetz in Mercy Hospital, Iowa City. He attended Longfellow elementary school and graduated from St Mary’s High School in 1936. He then worked with his family on their farm at East Court St. On Feb 17, 1947, he married Margaret M Mahan at St Mary’s Catholic Church. After their marriage, they operated a dairy farm. When the VA hospital opened for operation in the early 1950’s, Louis was one of the first employees. He worked for many years in the hospital kitchen, later transferring to the Corps of Engineers at the Coralville reservoir and retiring in 1979. Bud also worked his entire adult life for the Carl Chadek Trucking Company, delivering countless loads of rock and dirt to numerous places throughout this area. He also mowed lawns and did odd jobs to supplement the family income in order to provide for his four children.

Louis was very proud of the fact that his ancestors were one of the first settlers in the Iowa City area arriving in 1842. His maternal great-grandmother, Theresa (Startzer) Hohenschuh, was one of the first members of St Mary’s Catholic Church; her son W.P. Hohenschuh was the founder of the Hohenschuh Mortuary (later Lensing Funeral home). Bud’s paternal grandfather, John A Goetz, was a benefactor and first president of the Hills Bank; he was also very active in the development in the communities of West Liberty, Lone Tree and Iowa City. Louis’ wife, Margaret, had a major interest in family genealogy; this led them on two trips to Ireland and Germany where they were able to document a lot of family history. He was also very active in coin collecting; for many years he was a member of the Coin Collectors of Iowa City.

Throughout their marriage, Louis and Margaret were also foster parents to three young men.

Many people knew him as the man who “sat in the driveway” at his home on Kirkwood Ave with his cats. His 22 year-old cat spent many hours by his side during Bud’s last days. He also loved taking deer and elk hunting trips out West and salmon fishing trips to Wisconsin. Louis had a great love of woodworking, completing several handmade grandmother clocks for many people including each of his children. His love of woodworking was also shown in the construction of the family home on Kirkwood Ave.

Bud had a daily interest in the weather, often recording any record-setting snowfalls or temperatures. He prided himself on his hard-working, frugal and friendly nature. He was very proud to say he had many lifetime friendships. He also enjoyed discussing-and solving-the problems of the world with his “coffee club” from the local Hy-Vee grocery stores.

Honesty and “doing the right thing” were very important to Louis.

He is survived by his daughters Marilyn (Gerald) Gaffey and their son Sean, Martha (Rex) Dawson and their daughter Courtney, all of Iowa City; Alice (Phil) Pili of Pago Pago, America Samoa and Utah, her daughter Elizabeth (Mathias) Michalek, a son Phillip and his children Phillip James “PJ” (Holly) Goetz, Amanda, Cameron, and Andrew “Skyler” Goetz, and great-granddaughter, Sarah Goetz. He also is survived by his two sisters: Catherine Svihovec, St Petersburg, FL and Loretta Cosley of Long Beach, CA. He was preceded in death by his wife Margaret, who died Oct 28, 2005, and his parents.

Online condolences may be made to the family at www.lensingfuneral.com.