Holthaus, Cleo Clemens -- 1944 - 2006

KUENNEN, HOLTHAUS, AUER, SMABY

Posted By: Volunteer
Date: 10/24/2006 at 20:03:07

Cleo Holthaus, 62

Cleo Holthaus, of Castalia, passed away Sunday, Sept. 17, 2006, in his home from Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. He was 62. Inurnment will be held at a later date.

Cleo Clemens Holthaus was born on April 13, 1944 in Decorah, the son of Cyril and Edna (Kuennen) Holthaus. He was baptized and confirmed at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church in Ossian. He attended grade school and graduated from St. Francis De Sales High School in 1962. On Aug. 9, 1969, he was united in marriage to Linda Auer at St. Bridget's Church in Postville, Iowa, by Msgr. Cletus J. Hawes. Together they had two sons, Shawn and Ryan.

He was a passionate farmer who cared for his livestock and strived to improve his land. Cleo belonged to St. Francis de Sales Church, the Rosary Society and the Knights of Columbus. He also was a member of the Iowa Pork Producers, the Winneshiek County Cattlemen's Association and served as past president. On March 18, 1981, he suffered a serious head injury on the farm. He was not expected to live, let alone make a full recovery. Yet Cleo's will to live, determination and work ethic allowed him to continue farming.

Cleo loved to sing. He sang in the church choir and the Ossian Community Singers. On many occasions he could be found serenading his pigs on the farm. Cleo had a wonderful sense of humor and was always passing along a good (or bad) joke. He enjoyed home improvement projects when he had the time: he landscaped his yard using church bricks for the sidewalk in front of his home and remodeled his basement using boards from his old barn. His other hobbies included reading, golfing, and catching turtles for soup. He enjoyed visiting with neighbors, friends and relatives. Most importantly, he loved spending time with his wife, sons, and favorite daughter-in-law.

Cleo is survived by his wife, Linda; two sons: Shawn of Castalia, and Ryan and his wife, Lori, of Mason City; his parents: Cyril and Edna Holthaus of Castalia; his sister: Diane (Chris) Smaby of Cedar Rapids; sister-in-law, Rita Holthaus of Ossian, father-in-law, Ralph Auer of Lansing, sister-in-law: Deanna Auer, and brother-in-law, Terry Auer of Ossian. He is also survived by many aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his brother, Joseph on Aug. 30, 2006 and his mother-in-law, Ruth Auer in 1994.

Postville Herald-Leader, September 28, 2006