Elmer F. Lange (1990)

LANGE, PRECHT, THOMAS, WILLIAMS, CRISS, SHEPHERD

Posted By: Treva Patterson (email)
Date: 9/2/2006 at 15:27:23

Winterset Madisonian
May 16, 1990

Elmer F. Lange, Sac City

Elmer F. Lange, 73, a senior vice president and major stockholder with Union State Bank in Winterset, died May 6. Services were held Wed., May 9 at the First Presbyterian Church in Sac City with the Rev. Sam Pedergrast officiating. Burial was at the Oakland Cemetery in Sac City. Masonic and military graveside rites were also held.

Born April 13, 1917, he was the son of Hugo F. and Alvina (Precht) Lange. He attended both Iowa State and Drake Universities and in 1941 served as a 2nd Lt. in the Iowa State Guard at Camp Dodge. Inducted into the U.S. Army in 1942, he graduated from the Officers Candidate School-Fort Benning, Georgia and was assigned to the Infantry at Camp Atterberry, Indiana. His division was sent to Stow-on-the-Wold, England and from there, to the Siegfried Leni, Germany in 1944. Captured by the German Army that same year and held in various POW camps, the Division was liberated in May 1945. After returning to the states for a discharge, he married Beth Thomas of Coon Rapids, Iowa, on June 16, 1946.

Elmer subsequently remained active in the Reserves for 20 years and retired a major. He found time to serve in the American Legion as Sac City Commander; and State Vice Commander. He also held a life membership in the American Legion, Disabled American Veterans, VFW, Ex-Prisoner of War Association and the Reserve Officers Association.

Until 1971, Elmer co-owned and operated the Sac City Creamery. During this time and until his death, he served on several boards and businesses, including; president of the Iowa Ice Cream Manufacturers Association; president of the Madison Holding Co.; member of the Board of Directors of the Union State Bank in Winterset; board member of the Security National Bank in Jefferson; member of the Board of Directors of the Midwest Energy Co.; represented his wife in the partnership of the Garst and Thomas Hybrid Corn Co. of Coon Rapids; a member of the Sac County Fairboard Association; served as a post master of the Masonic Lodge; member of the Abu-Bekr Shrine of Sioux City; and was a member of and served as, a trustee, deacon and ruling elder of the First Presbyterian Church in Sac City.

Elmer's political interest began as the finance chairman of the Republican party for Sac County in 1957. This led to his 10-year career in the House and Senate of the Iowa General Assembly.

In 1971, he was nominated and elected as thefirst SCORE/ACE director for the ACTION Agency in Washington, D.C. He was then appointed in 1975 as the state director for ACTION in Lincoln, Neb.

He is survived by his wife Beth; his two daughters, Mary Beth Williams of Garden City, Kansas and Martha Jane Lange of Guffey, Colorado; his son-in-law Robert A. Williams, his two grandsons Nathan and Colin; a brother, Jean of Sac City; and two sisters, LaVera Criss of Sac City and Marian Shepherd of Venice, Florida.