Earl "Shorty" Long

Earl “Shorty” Long, age 92, of Coon Rapids, passed away on Good Friday, March 25, 2016 at Thomas Rest Haven in Coon Rapids, surrounded by his family. Funeral Services will be held at 2:00 P.M. Monday, March 28, 2016 at the First Christian Church in Coon Rapids, with Pastor Ben Ramirez officiating. Visitation will be one hour prior to the funeral service at the church. There will be a Masonic service at the 12:30 P.M. Monday, March 28, 2016 at the church. Organist will be Laura Lee Ramirez and soloist will be Deb Kult. Casket bearers will be Phil Engelson, Steve Schreck, Larry Turner, Fred Long Jr., Jim Herbert, and Jerry Kult. Honorary Casket Bearers will be Jeff Hartl, Jeff McCool, Kevin Dorpinghaus, Mark McCool, and Ben Mason. Burial will be in the Orange Township Cemetery south of Coon Rapids with military honors by the Gurney Parker Post #357 of the American Legion. Memorial Contributions may be made to the Gurney Parker Post #357 of the American Legion in Shorty’s memory. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Dahn and Woodhouse Funeral Home in Coon Rapids and online condolences may be left for the family at www.dahnandwoodhouse.com. The son of Warren and Emma (Pevestorf) Long, Shorty was born February 19, 1924 at home on a farm in Guthrie County. The youngest of four children, he attended school in Bayard, and graduated from Bayard High School in 1942, the only one in his family to do so. After graduation, Shorty began farming with his father south of Coon Rapids until he joined the Navy on January 17, 1946. After serving until November 15, 1947, he came back to farm with his dad again. On August 15, 1951 at the First Christian Church in Coon Rapids, he married his long-time sweetheart and neighbor girl, Helen Cretsinger. The two began farming on their own. A terrible car accident in October of 1957 nearly claimed both their lives; Helen was seriously injured and Shorty was in the hospital and laid up at home for months following. But this didn’t slow him down and that following spring he began working his farm again raising cattle in his cow/calf herd, farrowing and finishing hogs, baling hay and tending his row crops. Shorty and Helen had two daughters, Gayla and Patty. Shorty worked hard, but he also enjoyed many hobbies. He was a hunter and fisherman traveling to Canada yearly on fishing expeditions; elk hunting out West; quail hunting in southern Iowa; pheasant hunting locally and trekking through the hills south of town mushroom hunting. He bowled for years where he was on many championship teams and participated in the “Let’s Go Bowling” show in Des Moines and numerous state bowling tournaments. He also found time to golf and proudly boasted having a hole-in-one at the Coon Rapids golf course. In later years, Shorty was able to slip away to Prairie Meadows from time to time to try to hit a jackpot. He became a 50-year member of the Masonic Lodge in 2006 and was very proud of his 50 plus years as a member of the Gurney Parker Post #357 of the American Legion in Coon Rapids, always carrying his Legion card with him. After retiring from farming and moving to town in 1978, Shorty went to work for Malcom and Thompson John Deere dealership in Coon Rapids where he drove a truck to pick up and deliver machinery and also assembled equipment in the shop. When the dealership closed in 1985, Shorty took over the shoe repair shop at the Garst Store from his son-in-law Kevin Dorpinghaus. He continued to work at that until the store closed in 1995. Even then he didn’t completely retire as he would accompany Kevin on his port-a-pot rounds working for donuts and coffee. Shorty loved to coffee and socialize. In later years, he coffeed with the guys at the Legion in the mornings, then made his way to Chuck’s or the Northside for a pop and to watch the guys play cards. He and Helen never missed one of Patty’s softball games, always traveling and keeping track of her games. Later they watched both their grandchildren, Katie in softball and Mark in baseball and football, always there to cheer them on and give them encouragement. Helen passed away February 22, 2008 and Shorty stayed at home until he decided it was best to become a member of the Thomas Rest Haven family on November 15, 2011. Shorty is survived by his daughters: Gayla and Jeff McCool of Bayard and Patty and Kevin Dorpinghaus of Coon Rapids; granddaughter Katie and Ben Mason of Coon Rapids and grandson Mark and Chelsea McCool of Bayard. He has three beautiful great-granddaughters – Madison Ann and Carlie May Mason of Coon Rapids and Kollins Kay McCool of Bayard. Also, Shorty is survived by a sister-in-law Evelyn Long of Jefferson and many special nieces and nephews. Preceding him in death were his parents; his brother Fred Long; sisters Vera Russ and Kathryn Herbert; sisters-in-law Arlene Vetterick, Eleanor Yager and Geneva Schreck; and brothers-in law Robin Herbert, Irvin Vetterick, Clare Yager, Don Schreck and Kenneth Cretsinger.