James A. RIEKENS

RIEKENS, JURGENS, WILIMEK, WESSELS

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 3/5/2011 at 11:57:57

December 10, 1934 -- March 1, 2011

MASON CITY - James A. "Jim" Riekens, 76, of Mason City died Tuesday, March 1, 2011, at Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa following a short illness. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, March 5, at First United Methodist Church, 119 S. Georgia Ave., with the Rev. Keith Scott of Wesley United Methodist Church officiating. Interment will be held in Elmwood-St. Joseph Cemetery. Visitation will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, March 4, at Major Erickson Funeral Home, 111 N. Pennsylvania Ave. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to KCMR Radio.

James was born on Dec. 10, 1934, in rural Kanawha to Ed and Martha (Jurgens) Riekens and moved to Belmond at age 7. He graduated from Belmond High School in 1952. After graduating, he attended one year at Cornell College in Mount Vernon and then transferred to Iowa State College in Ames. He graduated with a BS in dairy industry in 1956 and then obtained an MS in Dairy and Food Industry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1957. He spent two years in the Army and worked with the Quartermaster Food & Container Institute in Chicago, Ill. He worked as a plant supervisor for the Carnation Co. in Waterloo from 1959 until 1963. Jim was married to Dorothy Wilimek in Waterloo on Feb. 12, 1961, and they celebrated 50 years of marriage in 2011. Jim and Dorothy moved to Clarion in 1963 where Jim began work for the Wright County Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service as the county executive director. In 1983, Jim became district director in North Central Iowa for ASCS. He retired after 34 years of service in 1997, at which time he and Dorothy moved to Mason City. While in Clarion, Jim served on the Library and Hospital Boards and served as mayor of Clarion from 1972 through 1978. He served in many leadership areas while a member of the First United Methodist Church at Clarion and has been an active member of the First Methodist Church in Mason City. He was an active member of the North Central Iowa Chapter of the National Association of Retired Federal Employees. This included being Chapter Treasurer for six years and President for one year. Jim became a Real Estate Agent for Johnson Real Estate in 1998, for Joyce Schulting Realty in 2002 and for Hildebrand Real Estate in 2003. Jim enjoyed volunteering at the KCMR, 97.9 FM, radio station and spending time with his pets and family.

Jim is survived by his wife, Dorothy; his children, Greg of Edina, Minn., and Michelle of Greenwood Village, Colo.; and sister, Gladys Wessels of Klemme. He was preceded in death by his parents, Ed and Martha Riekens, and his brother, Henry. Arrangements are with Major Erickson Funeral Home & Crematory, 111 N. Pennsylvania Ave., Mason City, IA 50401;

Mason City Globe Gazette - Iowa
March 4, 2011