Calvin Jay Gothier 1940 - 2021

GRIFFITH, GOTHIER, ASHLEY

Posted By: Connie Swearingen- Volunteer (email)
Date: 10/5/2021 at 14:54:53

Calvin Jay Gothier, age 81, of Anthon, Iowa, passed away on Monday, September 27, 2021, at the MercyOne Medical Center of Sioux City, Iowa.

A Funeral Service will be held at 10:30 a.m., on Saturday, October 2, 2021, at the United Methodist Church of Anthon, Iowa. Lay Minister Shirley Nelson will officiate. Committal Services will follow in the Oak Hill Cemetery of Anthon, Iowa. A Visitation will be held from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., with a prayer service at 7:00 p.m., on Friday, October 1, 2021.

The Armstrong - Van Houten Funeral Home of Anthon, Iowa, is in charge of the funeral arrangements. Condolences may be sent online www.armstrongfuneral.com.

Calvin Jay Gothier was born August 13, 1940, in his current home of Anthon, Iowa. He was the eldest son of Everett Neeble and Mae Eugene (Griffith) Gothier. Calvin passed away peacefully of natural causes, surrounded by his family, on September 27, 2021.

Calvin grew up in Anthon and graduated from Anthon Public School in 1958. He participated in multiple sports, including baseball, basketball and track. After finishing high school, he attended Wayne State College for a year before returning home.

On November 26, 1960, Calvin was united in marriage to Joyce Evelyn Ashley at the United Methodist Church in Anthon, Iowa. The couple were blessed with two children: Rhonda Jeanne and Jeffrey Frank.

Calvin was an A.F. & A.M. Mason, a member of the Little Sioux Cycle Club, served as a 4-H Sheep Superintendent, volunteer fireman and Fire Chief, School Board member, community choir, and a member of the Anthon United Methodist Church, where he was in both the choir and the men’s ministry group. During the Anthon Centennial in 1988, he was head of the planning committee and Grand Marshall of the parade.

He carried on his love of sports as a catcher on an adult fast pitch softball team. Calvin and Joyce also supported the activities of their kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids, being regulars at the gym or ballfield cheering them on. Calvin liked attending rodeos, trail rides, card parties, playing aggravation and cribbage with friends, and was an avid reader.

Calvin was a member of a farming family, where along with his dad, Everett, his uncle Donald Gothier, and grandfather Col. Frank C. Gothier, they operated the largest mink ranch in the U.S. He also raised Black Angus cattle with farms in South Dakota and Iowa. He retired in 2005 after suffering a stroke.

Left to treasure his memory are his wife of 60 years, Joyce; daughter, Rhonda Jeanne of Jacksonville, FL; son Jeffrey Frank (Jacque) of Anthon, IA; grandchildren Kayla Joyce of Jacksonville, FL; Zachary Jeff of Anthon, IA, Austin Jay of Sioux City, IA, Brady Dean of Anthon, IA, Drew Jayden of Sioux City, IA; great-grandchildren Alyxus Jeanne and Jayce Calvin, both of Jacksonville, FL; brother Doug (Lee) Gothier of Madison, WI; sister Alice Sobieski of Correctionville, IA; and extended family and friends.

He was proceeded in death by his maternal grandparents, Alton Jay and Alice Olivia Griffith; paternal grandparents Col. Frank C. and Nelle Neeble Gothier; mother Mae Eugene Griffith Gothier; stepmother Beulah Griffith Gothier; father Everett Neeble Gothier, stepmother Wilma Arlene Gothier; and brother-in-law Gary Sobieski.