Leo Classen (2013)
CLASSEN, CHRISTIANSEN, MCGARVEY, PARKS, PATTERSON
Posted By: Shirley Keating
Date: 10/17/2013 at 21:41:32
Winterset Madisonian
Winterset, Iowa
Wednesday, October 16, 2013LEO CLASSEN, DES MOINES
Leo Classen, 88, of Des Moines died Monday, Oct. 14, 2013, at The Village at Legacy Pointe in Waukee.
Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 17, at Ochiltree Funeral Service in Winterset. A visitation will be held prior to services from noon to 2 p.m., Thursday. Burial will be in the St. Charles Cemetery, St. Charles. Memorials may be directed to the family.
Leo was born in Glen Ullin, ND, on June 21, 1925, the son of Mathias and Margaret (Christiansen) Classen. He grew up in Glen Ullin and graduated from high school there in 1942. After graduation he enlisted in the United States Navy, where he served with the 17 Wings of Gold as an aerial gunner at Iwo Jima. Leo went on to attend North Dakota State University in Fargo receiving his degree in Mechanical Engineering; later he was offered a full scholarship at Bozeman, Mont., obtaining his masters. Leo was united in marriage to Patricia McGarvey in 1945 and this union his three children were born and later he married Betty Belle Parks. His first employment after receiving his master’s was in Bremerton, Wash., where he worked with the Bureau of Ships designing chilled and hot water vessels. He then went on to work in Los Alamos, NM, with the Atomic Energy Commission and then found his way to Des Moines where he worked for Peterson-Apel. After that he worked in Fort Dodge at the hospital as chief engineer and his last employment was working for the State of Iowa inspecting hospitals and nursing homes.
Leo was a member of the V.F.W., Eagles, Amvets and the American Society of Heating and Cooling Professional Engineers as well as the Iowa Society of Heating and Cooling Professional Engineers.
He was preceded in death by his parents; two brothers; nine sisters and a grandson, Nicky Classen.
He is survived by his wife, Betty Classen of Des Moines; his three children, Nancy (Ernie) Patterson of St. Charles; Sharon Classen of Des Moines; James Leo (Diane) Classen of Warroad, Minn.; seven grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.
Gravesite
Madison Obituaries maintained by Linda Griffith Smith.
WebBBS 4.33 Genealogy Modification Package by WebJourneymen