David Lawrence Huinker (1935-2018)
HUINKER, PITZENBERGER, WESELMANN, PILCH, BLACKMER, GIBSON, JOHNS, SINGER, ELSBERND, HEMESATH, EGGE, WATT
Posted By: Mark Christian
Date: 5/6/2018 at 09:36:18
From Grandon Funeral and Cremation Care obituary, Ames, Story County, Iowa:
David Lawrence Huinker, 83, Ames, passed away on Saturday, April 28, 2018 at Northridge Village in Ames. David was born April 13, 1935 on the farm outside of Calmar, Iowa. He was the youngest of seven children born to Edmund and Mathilda (Pitzenberger) Huinker. Dave attended country school, St. Aloysius catholic school and graduated from Calmar High School in 1954. He helped on his family farm and was active in 4-H and FFA showing dairy cattle, swine and sheep. He attended Iowa State University in animal husbandry for a year. Dave married Martha Weselmann from Calmar at Calmar Lutheran Church on June 27th, 1959. He served as an Army supply clerk at Fort Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma for two years where his daughter, Zetta was born. Dave and Martha returned to Iowa and lived in Ames where he managed the Iowa Swine Testing station for 18 years. While in Ames, they had Clark, Doreen and Karwyn. In 1979, the family moved back to NE Iowa settling on a farm outside of Decorah where they raised breeding swine and cattle and grew crops. In 2011, they retired to Ames to be closer to their children.
Dave was very active in the swine industry all his life. While managing the boar testing station, he worked with Iowa State University to help develop an index to evaluate boar performance, grew the test station to record size and mentored many young future leaders in the swine industry. He served on several state and national swine organization boards as well as exhibiting at or judging numerous county, state, regional and national livestock shows. Dave sold pigs all over the U.S., to several international buyers, toured Sweden's swine industry and hosted many international visitors with tours of his farm operation. Dave loved to promote agriculture and worked diligently to improve livestock production and quality through genetic selection and the collection and use of both live and carcass data. He especially enjoyed his time judging or being a ring man at livestock shows so he could work with young livestock exhibitors. Dave served as a 4-H club leader for over 20 years as well as being a member of several county committees related to youth and extension. In addition, he was inducted into the Winneshiek County and Iowa 4-H Halls of Fame for his service to 4-H.
Dave also enjoyed being a Fairman and served as a member of the Iowa State Fair board for 30 years, including two terms as board president. He loved the fair and helped start the Blue Ribbon Foundation to secure funds to make improvements to the fairgrounds. He and Martha were given the Winneshiek County Ag Association Distinguished Service Award for outstanding support of agriculture and the fair. In 2010, the International Association of Fairs & Expositions bestowed its coveted Heritage Award on Dave for his dedication to improving fairs. In honor of his military service, Dave took part in the Story County Freedom Flight to Washington D.C. in 2015. In his limited spare time, Dave served on several local, county and state committees and boards and was active in his church. He enjoyed life and loved to laugh at a good joke.
Dave is survived by his wife, Martha, of Ames, Iowa and his four children and their families: Zetta Pilch (Ed) of New London, Iowa; Clark (Laura) of Fairmont, Minnesota; Doreen Blackmer (Tracy) of Madrid, Iowa and Karwyn Gibson (Jim) of Panora, Iowa. He has nine grandchildren: Courtney (Elijah Johns) and Evan Pilch (Riley), Jacob, Cole, and Ben Huinker, Jessica and Cheryl Blackmer and Reagan and Riley Gibson. He also has one great-grandchild, Talia Johns and one step great-grandchild, K.J. Singer and numerous nieces and nephews. His brother Dennis, sisters Gladys Elsbernd and DeEtta Hemesath and sisters-in-law Dorothy Huinker, Helen Weselmann and JoAnne Egge also survive. He was preceded in death by his parents, his in-laws, Ralph and Esther Weselmann, brothers Paul Huinker and Alvin Huinker, sister Leona Watt, three sisters-in-law Georgina Huinker, Elberta Huinker and Delores Weselmann, and brothers-in-law James Watt, Alphonse Hemsath, Roger Elsbernd, Roger Weselmann and Loren Weselmann.
Memorials may be directed to the Iowa State Fair Blue Ribbon Foundation or the Iowa 4-H Foundation.
A visitation will be held on Wednesday, May 2, 2018 from 4-6 pm at Grandon Funeral and Cremation Care in Ames, IA and a visitation will be held from 10-11 am followed by a funeral on Friday, May 4, 2018 at Washington Prairie Lutheran Church, rural Decorah, IA. Interment will be at Calmar Lutheran Church cemetery in Calmar, Iowa.
http://www.grandonfuneralandcremationcare.com/
Story Obituaries maintained by Mark Christian.
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