Wilbur Duane Martens 1925 - 2005

MARTENS ALLNER SCHWARTZ

Posted By: Connie Swearingen (email)
Date: 10/27/2010 at 17:33:46

Sioux City Journal
11 September 2005

SPIRIT LAKE, Iowa -- W.D. Martens, 80, of Spirit Lake, a longtime farmer and cattle feeder in the Climbing Hill/Moville, Iowa, area, passed away Thursday, Sept. 8, 2005, at his residence following a courageous battle with cancer.

Services will be 10 a.m. Monday at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Spirit Lake, with the Rev. Phill Andreason officiating. Burial will be 2:30 p.m. Monday in West Fork Cemetery at Climbing Hill. Visitation will be after 4 p.m. today, with the family present 4 to 6 p.m., at Turner Funeral Home in Spirit Lake.

Wilbur Duane Martens was born on a farm east of Climbing Hill on July 27, 1925, the son of Henry and Lena (Allner) Martens. W.D. attended Rising Sun Country School and graduated from Climbing Hill High School in 1942. He was confirmed at St. John Lutheran Church in Climbing Hill in February 1943. W.D. enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1943 and served in the South Pacific, Kwajalein/Marshall Islands, with the 4th Air Wing, attaining the rank of sergeant. He was honorably discharged in 1946.

He was united in marriage to Norma Schwarz on Aug. 11, 1948, at St. John Lutheran Church in Climbing Hill. He farmed and fed cattle six miles south of Moville. He was also a partner with his father-in-law in the H.A. Schwarz Seed Company from 1955 until 1967, when they quit the blue grass seed business.

He retired from farming in 1980, but continued to feed cattle until 1985. He also had a second career selling real estate. For the last 25 years, W.D. did crop adjusting and had his own insurance agency. He retired earlier this year due to health problems. W.D. and Norma wintered for several years at Mustang Island, Texas.

He was a longtime active member of St. John Lutheran Church in Climbing Hill and, later, at First Lutheran in Kingsley. He held various church offices in these congregations. After moving to Spirit Lake permanently in 1985, he joined Immanuel Lutheran Church. He was also a member of American Legion Post 23 and served as a volunteer transporting cancer patients for treatment. W.D.'s pastimes included hunting, trapping, fishing, playing horseshoes, shooting snooker and playing cards.

Survivors include his wife, Norma; children and their spouses, David Martens (Karen) of Ft. Dodge, Iowa, and Annie VerHeul (Greg) of Viborg, S.D.; grandchildren, Michael Martens (Amy), Amy Royuk (Kyle), John VerHeul and Ross VerHeul; and a great-grandson, Alex David Martens.

He was preceded in death by his parents; sons, Marty and Rick; brothers, Donald, Henry and Robert; and brothers-in-law, Henry Schwarz and Stan Wichelt.