Klay, Earl 1918-1997

KLAY, DYKSTRA, BROWN

Posted By: Paul Van Dyke-Volunteer
Date: 2/23/2015 at 21:57:04

Source: Sioux County Capital (7-3-1997)

Born: August 22, 1918
Died: June 23, 1997

Earl Klay, age 78, of Orange City, died Monday, June 23, 1997 at the Orange City Hospital.

A funeral service was held on Friday, June 27 at 10:30 A.M. at the American Reformed Church in Orange City. The Reverend Harlan Van Oort officiated. Burial followed at West Lawn Cemetery in Orange City under the direction of the Van Etten-Oolman-VanGelder Funeral Home, Orange City.

Earl was born August 22, 1918 in Orange City, the son of T.E. “Deacon” and Effie Mae (Dykstra) Klay.

He served in the United States Army for four years during World War II, mostly in the China-Burma-India Theatre. He was discharged as a Lieutenant Colonel. He then returned to the University of Iowa where he graduated from the School of Law in 1947.

On June 16, 1947 he married Barbara Brown in Cedar Rapids. They made their home in Orange City where Earl joined his father in the practice of law.

He served as City Attorney of Orange City from 1951 to 1975 and as Sioux County Attorney from 1965 to 1969.

Earl was active in the Iowa State Bar Association, serving as President of the 18th Judicial District and as a member of the Grievance Commission of the Iowa Supreme Court from 1972 to 1983. On June 13 of this year at a ceremony in his home, he was presented with his 50-year membership certificate in the Iowa Bar Association by former association president and former United States Congressman, Wiley Mayne.

Mr. Klay was a member of the American Reformed Church.

Survivors include his wife, Barbara; a son, Timothy Earl Klay of Boulder, Colorado; two daughters, Susan Hope Swalm of Belleville, New Jersey, and Rachael Ruth Klay of Fairfax, Virginia; two grandsons, Peter Klay Brown and Nathan Earl Klay; and two sisters, Harriet Heitzman of Albany, Wisconsin, and Barbara Brainard of Ada, Minnesota.

He was preceded in death by a sister, Muriel Burns.

Memorials are being directed to Northwestern College in Orange City, the Salvation Army in Sioux City, and Hope Haven Residential Training Center at Orange City.