Joseph Warren Dirksen 1983 - 2008

DIRKSEN, BEACOM

Posted By: Connie Swearingen (email)
Date: 6/24/2013 at 00:07:12

Sioux City Journal
24 October 2008

DANBURY, Iowa -- Joe Dirksen, 24, of Danbury was found dead due to natural causes Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2008, in his room at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Mo.

Services will be 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Danbury, with the Rev. Terry Roder officiating. Burial will be in Danbury Catholic Cemetery. Visitation will be after 3 p.m. today, with a vigil wake service at 7 p.m., at the church. Arrangements are under the direction of Armstrong Funeral Home of Danbury and Mapleton, Iowa.

Joseph Warren Dirksen was born Dec. 20, 1983, in Sioux City, the son of Warren and Kathy (Beacom) Dirksen. He, the sixth of eight children, attended grade and junior high school in the Maple Valley School District. He was a 2003 graduate of Maple Valley Anthon-Oto High School in Mapleton, Iowa. He attended Des Moines Area Community College for three years, then transferred to Northwest Missouri State University. He was a senior majoring in sales and marketing and minoring in communication.

He grew up on a farm outside of Danbury, spending a lot of time helping his dad and brothers with the crops and livestock. In addition to his work on the farm, he also held many other jobs including working for the Sioux City Explorers baseball team.

He loved watching and playing sports, which included football, basketball, track and baseball. He also enjoyed cheering on his favorite sports teams, the Kansas City Chiefs, Iowa State Cyclones and Northwest Missouri State Bearcats. He was very active in the Catholic church. One of his outstanding roles was as a SEARCH youth counselor, where he was a leader, mentor and inspiration for hundreds of high school students.

He will forever be remembered for his radiant smile, selflessness and the positive effects he had on everyone that knew him. He loved to talk and joke around with his parents, brothers, sisters, family and many friends. He was always willing to put other people before himself. His passion for life and the hearts he touched will live on forever.

Those survivors left to cherish his memory include his parents, Warren and Kathy Dirksen of Danbury; a brother and his wife, Mark and Lisa Dirksen and their children, Annabel and Emmet of Sioux City; a sister and her husband, Julie and Brent Steemken and their children, Zachary and Benjamin of Des Moines; a sister and her husband, Angela and Owen Primavera and their daughter, Zorianna of Lenexa, Kan.; a sister, Sandra Dirksen of Council Bluffs, Iowa; a brother and his wife, John and Allison Dirksen of New Brighton, Minn.; a sister, Amanda Dirksen of Sandpoint, Idaho; a brother, Matthew Dirksen of Ames, Iowa; his grandmother, Delia Beacom of Sioux City; and numerous beloved aunts, uncles and friends.

He was preceded in death by his paternal grandparents, Ed and Sally Dirksen; and maternal grandfather, John Beacom.

A scholarship fund has been established in memory of Joe Dirksen. Contributions can be sent or dropped off at First State Bank of Mapleton: Joe Dirksen Memorial Scholarship Fund, 313 North Fourth Street, Mapleton, IA. 51034.