Larry Duane Knaack 1939-2011

KNAACK HAGEMANN SCHWEITZBERGER

Posted By: Connie Swearingen (email)
Date: 6/30/2011 at 20:15:28

Sioux City Journal
18 March 2011

CORRECTIONVILLE, Iowa -- Larry D. Knaack, 71, of Correctionville passed away Wednesday, March 16, 2011, at Kingsley (Iowa) Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.

Services will be 10:30 a.m. Saturday at United Methodist Church in Correctionville, with the Rev. Sheryl Ashley officiating. Burial will be in Good Hope Cemetery in rural Correctionville. Visitation will be after 2 p.m. today, with the family present 5 to 8 p.m. and prayer service at 7 p.m., at Johnson-Earnest Funeral Home in Kingsley. Visitation will resume one hour prior to services Saturday at the church. Online condolences may be sent at www.mauerjohnsonfh.com.

Larry Duane Knaack was born Aug. 8, 1939, in Correctionville, the first-born son and child of Sylvia Alice (Hagemann) and Christopher Vollrath Knaack. He was baptized, confirmed and a member of United Methodist Church in Pierson, Iowa. Larry graduated from Pierson High School in 1957.

While in high school, Larry played basketball and began dating his high school sweetheart and future bride, Junille Schweitzberger. They enjoyed all the thrills of a young courtship, and especially the shared joy of horseback riding. Larry was particularly fond of riding his horse "Silver."

Following high school, Larry attended a heavy equipment trade school in North Carolina, and upon completing his certification returned to Iowa.

Larry and Junille were united in marriage on June 4, 1959, at United Methodist Church in Pierson. The couple moved to the Onawa, Iowa, area, where Larry was employed with a construction company as a scraper and dozer operator.

When the opportunity arose for Larry to farm, and later own the family home place near Correctionville, Larry seized the chance and spent the rest of his working years as a grain and livestock farmer and doing some trucking. He took great pride in providing for his wife and children and treasured the peaceful moments of life on the farm. One of his greatest joys was perching himself upon a fence and simply overlooking the farm and watching his cattle.

Larry was a member of the Woodbury Pork Producers, Woodbury County Extension, Cherokee Rural Water Board and Western Iowa Co-op. In the early 1970s, Larry was awarded Master Pork Producer of the Year.

Larry was an avid reader, especially farm magazines. He also loved walking through museums and taking leisurely rides in the country with Junille.

Survivors include his wife of 51 years, Junille Knaack; his daughter, Roberta Knaack of Correctionville; his son, Terry and Jackie Knaack of Greenfield, Ind.; two sisters, Vernita Manship of Mountain Home, Ark., and Donna Handslip of Fremont, Neb.; three brothers, Duane Knaack and Dale and Vickie Knaack of Correctionville, and Tim and Diane Knaack of Cherokee; a sister-in-law, Joyce Kohn of Cherokee, Iowa; and numerous nieces, nephews and other relatives and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents; an infant brother, Richard Knaack; and his parents-in-law, Ernie and Thelma Schweitzberger.