Leonard John DEGEN

DEGEN, SCHILMOELLER, ROBEN, HOTVEDT, TOTT, FUCHSEN, GOFF, LOMBARDO

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 12/29/2007 at 22:54:28

Sioux City Journal, IA
July 28, 2005

HOLSTEIN, Iowa -- Leonard John Degen of Holstein died Monday, July 25, 2005, at Cherokee Regional Hospital following a lengthy illness with Parkinson's Disease. Services will be 10:30 a.m. Friday at Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church in Holstein, with the Rev. David Hemann officiating. Private graveside services will be held at a later date. Visitation will be 5 to 7 p.m. today, with a Scripture service at 7 p.m. followed by a rosary, at the church parish center.

Leonard was born Jan. 16, 1923, to Henry and Elisabeth (Schilmoeller) Degen, on a farm near Granville, Iowa. He was baptized and confirmed in the Catholic faith. The family lived in Geddes, S.D., and Eagle Grove, Iowa, before returning to Granville after the death of his father in 1934. He left school at the age of 14 to operate the family farm. In 1969, he earned a high school equivalency certificate. On Nov. 11, 1948, he married Virginia Roben at St. Andrew's Catholic Church in Sibley, Iowa. They farmed near Ashton, Remsen, Sutherland and Cherokee, Iowa, before moving in 1962 to the Holstein area, where they purchased a farm in 1972. He was an advocate of soil conservation and a pioneer in minimum tillage. he also specialized in hog production until his retirement in 1986, when they moved to Holstein. He was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in 1988 and in February 2003, he became a resident of the Good Samaritan Center in Holstein. He was a member of Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church, where he served on various committees. he enjoyed auction sales and collecting antique farm equipment and tools. He was a charter member of the Missouri Valley Wrench Club and a longtime member of the Mid-West Tool Collectors Association. He was a charter member of both the Holstein Kiwanis Club and the Ida County Historical Society and held offices in both groups. He served on boards of the Farmer's Co-op of Cherokee, the Cherokee County Rural Water District and Stubbs Memorial Library.

He is survived by his wife, Virginia; three children, Elisabeth and her husband, Steven Hotvedt of Sioux City, Christopher of Storm Lake, Iowa, and Rich and his wife, Michelle of Holstein; three grandchildren, Jessi Hotvedt Tott, Cole and Austin Degen; a great-grandchild, Hannah Tott; six siblings and spouses, Marion Fuchsen of Algona, Iowa, Florence and James Goff of Sioux City, Robert and Camilla Degen of Granville, Iowa, William and Anita Degen of Algona, Iowa, Don and Ann Degen of Bancroft, Iowa, and the Rev. Jerome Degen of Algona, Iowa; a brother-in-law, Vincent Lombardo of Buena Park, Calif.; and 38 nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; a sister, Esther Lombardo; a brother-in-law, Les "Sport" Fuchsen; and two nephews.