OBITUARY: May 16, 1920 ---- July 5, 2014
John Alan Guyader, 94, Rural Woolstock, Troy Township, died on Saturday, July 5, 2014, at his home surrounded by family. Private visitation was held on July 14, 2014 at Laufersweiler-Sievers Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Fort Dodge, and a private funerary service was held on July 15, 2014 at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, with Bishop Brett Asay officiating, also in Fort Dodge, Iowa.
He was born Jean Alain Guyader on May 16, 1920 in Carantec, Brittany, France to Captain Jean Francois (Navy; French Legion of Honor) and Elisa (Cleach) Guyader. He was educated in Carantec and Paris, France; was an agriculture apprentice from 1934 until 1940 in Picardie and Seine et Marne provinces of France.
After several close calls with Nazi troops in occupied France, John crossed the Demarcation Line in 1940, and joined the armed forces in Toulouse, France. From 1941 through 1946 he was enlisted in the French Colonial Marines (Regiment d'Infanterie Chars Marine) in Marseille, France; Oran, Algeria; Casablanca, Rabat, and Mazagan, Morocco; and guarded the gold bullion of France in the Caribbean island of Martinique. Due to connections he made during the war, John immigrated to the United States in 1947, arriving in Woolstock, Iowa on January 1, 1947. He became a US citizen in 1952, and moved to rural Woolstock, Troy Township becoming a gentleman farmer on his forty acres of land. John believed that with hard work one could get ahead in life. He worked for Hormel in Fort Dodge for 33 years. He continued managing his estate for another 25 years. John married Rita Olivia Urrutia Aviles on December 21, 1974 in Valparaiso, Chile, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
John was an advocate of continuing education, having studied until he was 88 years old at both Iowa Central Community College campuses in Fort Dodge and Webster City, Iowa; and contributed to educating the less fortunate in Catholic sponsored schools for Sioux children in Chamberlain, South Dakota; several schools also in Anse Rouge region of Haiti through Wright County Holy Family Cluster; and Les Orphelans d'Auteuil in Paris, France. John enjoyed horticulture, history, business, family, and teasing the family pets. He was also very religious since he was a young child, and fully believed that everything he was blessed with in life was by the grace of God.
John traveled extensively, having been to every continent except Antarctica, and seen every ocean. Some of his favorite places were Iceland, Austria, Spain, the Azores, Morocco, French Polynesia, Australia, Easter Island, and Chile.
John was honored as World War II veteran for the first and only time in 2011 at the Aaron Eilert's Day of Service in Eagle Grove, and his participation in sewing a portion of the 9/11 National Flag is documented and can be found at The National September 11 Memorial Museum in New York City.
John is survived by his wife of 39 years, Rita; daughters, Elisa Guyader of Urbandale, Veronica Guyader of Woolstock; sister, Helene Guillerm of Brittany, France; nephews, Jean Charles Guillerm, Philippe and Francoise Guillerm and their sons, Erwan and Yann, all of Brittany, France; sister-in-law, Veronica Urrutia Aviles and family of Olmue, Chile; brothers-in-law, Patricio Urrutia Aviles and family of Ibarra, Ecuador; Nelson Urrutia Aviles and family of Valparaiso, Chile; cousins, Vi-Countess Evelyn (de Kergariou) de Boisguehenneuc; Francoise Hamon; Pascale LeSquin, all of Brittany, France; Yvette (widow of Jacques) LeSquin of Normandy, France; Francine LaCombe of Gascogne, France; Maryse Bernardie of Nantes, France; and many other cousins, and dear friend, Therese Krouch and family of Alsace, France. He was preceded in death by his parents, and step-mother, Jeanne Opsomer; brother-in-law, Charles Guillerm; aunt, Renee (Cleach) LeSquin; cousins, Jacques LeSquin, Helene Jort, Jeanot and Yvette LeSquin, Erwan LeRoux, Count Guy de Boisguehennuc, Vi-Countess Anne de Boisguehennec; many more cousins, aunts and uncles from France; and parents-in-law from Chile, Jose Roberto Urrutia Ayala (Universidad Tecnica Federico de Santa Maria, Valparaiso) and Georgina Aviles de Urrutia.
Burial service will take place at a later date. Send memorials to: The Guyader Family, PO Box 783, Webster City, Iowa 50595. All donations will be sent to the Veterans of Foreign Wars, a charity favored by John Guyader.
Source: Daily Freeman Journal, Webster City IA - July 18, 2014 (photos included)
