Waldon Arthur Askren

ASKREN, IRVING, SELLERS, BOYD

Posted By: David L. Skipton (email)
Date: 12/28/2010 at 00:53:57

Source: The Columbus Gazette

Walden Arthur Askren, 81, of Muscatine, Iowa, went home to be with his Lord and Savior on Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at Mercy Hospital in Iowa City following a short battle with pneumonia and complications.

Memorial services were held on Saturday, January 23, 2010 at 10:00 A.M. at the Geo. M. Wittich-Lewis Home for Funeral and Cremation Services. Pastor Dennis Hakes of Walnut Park Baptist Church officiated the services with Jake Rosekopf assisting. Burial will be in Muscatine Memorial Park Cemetery. Following the services a time of fellowship was held at the Geo. M. Wittich-Lewis Community Room.

Visitation for Walden was held on Friday, January 22, 2010 from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the Geo. M. Wittich-Lewis Home for Funeral and Cremation Services. The family requests memorials, in lieu of flowers, be directed to the Walden Askren Student Scholarship Fund at First National Bank, Muscatine, IA. Sympathy notes for the Askren family may be left at www.lewisfuneralhomes.com.

Walden was born on January 6, 1929, in Columbia, Iowa to Harold Jud and Rilla (Irving) Askren. He attended Williamson Country schools, and graduated from Chariton High School in 1947; Northwestern Bible College, Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1953; and Western Conservative Baptist Seminary, in 1957. He married Pauline Sellers on August 29, 1948 in Chariton, Iowa.

Walden was a loving husband, father, and pastor, serving congregations in Minnesota, Oregon, Idaho, Arizona, and Iowa for more than 60 years. Walden eagerly served to the very end having preached the Sunday before he entered the hospital. In the last 18 years he served multiple congregations in Eastern Iowa as interim pastor, preacher and calling pastor. His great passion was seeing people come to Jesus Christ for salvation and restoration.

Walden enjoyed golfing, fishing, and watching sports, but his greatest love was preaching and teaching.

He will be deeply missed by his wife, Pauline; children, Doug (Terry) Askren, of Naperville, IL, Linda (Terrence) Boyd, of Hibbing, Minnesota, Phil (Marge) Askren, of Andover, Minnesota, Wes (Robyn) Askren, of Toronto, Ontario, Canada and Stan (Mona) Askren, of Muscatine, Iowa; 18 grandchildren; 8 great-grandchildren; brother, Lyle (Betty) of Rockford, IL and several nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; two sisters, Wanda (Harold) Russell and Wilma (Homer) Ballard; an infant son, Neil Askren and an adult daughter, Karen (Jeff) Wood.