Keith C. Lininger (2009)

LININGER, MORELAND, HALL, KOEHLER, RICHARDS

Posted By: Mary Welty Hart (email)
Date: 12/6/2009 at 08:07:35

Winterset Madisonian, Winterset, Iowa
November 25, 2009

KEITH C. LININGER, MOUNT AYR, IOWA

Keith Clarence Lininger was born May 30, 1919, to Clarence and Blanche (Moreland) Lininger on a farm one mile west and a half mile south of Tingley, Iowa, and passed away Nov. 18, 2009, at the age of 90 years, 5 months, and 18 days. Funeral services were held Saturday, Nov. 21, at the Presbyterian Church in Tingley with the Revs. Bruce Giese and Peter Brantner officiating. Burial was at Tingley Cemetery with military rites performed by Ringgold American Legion Post 172 and the Iowa Army National Guard Honor Squad.

Keith attended Hiawatha and Bridge Academy rural schools and graduated from Shannon City High School in 1936. He was an active member of the Tingley Toppers 4-H Club and in 1938 showed the Grand Champion Baby Beef at the Ringgold County Fair.

He farmed with his father until he was inducted into the United States Army on March 22, 1942. After receiving amphibious and desert training with the 7th Infantry Division, Keith participated in the Aleutian campaign in May 1943, helping to secure Attu Island. Following reorganization in the Hawaiian Islands, he went with the unit to the Marshall Islands and assisted in the Kwajalein Island operation in February 1944. Keith was awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster following these two operations. In September 1944, he received orders to return to the States for officers training at Ft. Benning, Ga., where he was commissioned in February 1945.

Keith married Twilla Ruth Hall in Phenix City, Ala., on Oct. 22, 1944. They lived in Belton, Texas, where Keith was an instructor at Camp Hood until the end of the war. They returned to Tingley in November 1945 and moved to the farm where they resided until moving to Clearview Home in Mount Ayr, Iowa, in September 2009.

A daughter, Quita Rae, was born June 16, 1946, and on July 25, 1951, a son, Curtis Keith, joined the family. Keith and Twilla were later blessed with four grandchildren; Kelle, Kenneth, Brandi, and Angie. Keith was happiest when spending time playing with and being entertained by his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Keith devoted much interest to soil and water conservation and served as a district commissioner for 35 years. In 1970, he was named outstanding commissioner in the state of Iowa.

Keith was a member of the Ringgold Mutual Insurance Board of Directors for 17 years and served on the Commission of Veteran Affairs for 54 years. He was an early member of the Tingley Lions Club and a member of the American Legion and V.F.W., as well as serving as a 4-H leader, Sunday school teacher and elder of the Tingley United Presbyterian Church.

Keith is survived by his loving and devoted wife Twilla; one daughter, Quita (David) Koehler of Winterset, Iowa; one son, Curtis (Terry) Lininger of Tingley, Iowa; three grandchildren, Kelle, Brandi and Angie; two stepgrandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; six stepgreat-grandchildren; and many nieces, nephews, family and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents; a brother, Donald and his wife Dorothy; his father and mother-in-law, Leon and Lula Hall; a brother-in-law, Marvin Hall; a sister-in-law, Vienna Richards; and a grandson, Kenneth.