Conrad Glen Follmer

FOLLMER, MITCHELL, KACMARYNSKI, BLANCHARD

Posted By: Sarah Fletcher (email)
Date: 8/28/2018 at 11:11:02

Conrad Glen Follmer, 80, of Iowa City, passed away peacefully and unexpectedly in his sleep on August 14, 2018.

The funeral service will be held on Saturday, August 18, 2018 at 4:30 PM at High Point City Church in Iowa City with a light meal downstairs afterwards. Conrad’s family will greet friends Friday, August 17th, from 4:30 – 6:30 PM at Lensing’s Oak Hill, 210 Holiday Road in Coralville. Burial will be Sunday, August 19th at 2:30 PM at Fontana Cemetery in Hazelton, Iowa. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed through Lensing Funeral Service to the Conrad Follmer Memorial Fund – to benefit Tenwek Mission Hospital in Kenya.

He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Martha Jane (Mitchell) Follmer; son Paul (Jacque) Follmer and daughter Deborah (Robert) Kacmarynski; brother George (Paulette), sister Betty Follmer; and grandchildren Kendra Blanchard, Peter and Staci Follmer, Abigail, Micah and Kathryn Kacmarynski.
He was preceded in death by his parents, William and Grace, his stepmother Mary and four brothers, William, Wesley, Kenneth and Charles.

Music was Con’s passion throughout his life. Con and his five brothers sang with their father at church events, and their mother accompanied them or made chalk drawings while they sang. Con admitted to regularly sneaking into school before dawn through a window he had unlatched, to play the piano with none the wiser. He crammed an organ into a small house trailer, hoisted a piano through a second floor window with pulleys and a railroad tie, and put a full-size church organ in the lower level of two houses. Con and Martha first met in choir. Over the years many great friends were made in the choirs Con directed. He was able to help ordinary people produce extraordinary music. Give him a music student and he was happy. He believed anyone could learn and grow in musical abilities. He sang in fine chorales for many years.

Con’s ability to repair anything began with his work with his family’s businesses. He worked as an electronic repairman in the Air Force and in machine maintenance at John Deere in Waterloo. After the ‘80’s farm crisis, layoffs led him to return to school, after which he worked as an electrician at Schumacher Elevators in Denver, IA and at Firestone Tires in Des Moines, IA.

He was an ardent Hawkeye fan, and was part of the marching band that went to the Rose Bowl in 1957 and 1959. He returned for Homecoming to march with the Alumni Band for many years. He kept his trumpet at hand while watching or listening to his beloved Hawkeye football and basketball games.

Con and Martha enjoyed many trips overseas in their retirement. Con loved to study foreign languages including French, Russian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Japanese, Bulgarian, Greek and Hebrew. Con’s shirt pocket always contained folded papers of whatever the current language was. Often in the evening, Con asked Martha to read aloud from their latest book, and afterwards came their prayer time. Books were as necessary as one’s next breath and were bought when maybe another need had to be delayed.

Family, music, lifelong learning and teaching were cornerstones of his life. He was committed, faithful, persistent and creative. He was not an extroverted person but he formed strong friendships that lasted. He loved and served his family, but most importantly, he loved Jesus.

Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service
 

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