Lewis H. Rich

Lewis Hamilton Rich, age 83, of Glidden passed away on Sunday, July 25, 2010 at the Carroll Health Center in Carroll. Mass of the Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 A.M. on Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church in Glidden with Fr. Anthony Pick and Deacon Gary Schon Celebrating. Friends may call at the Dahn and Woodhouse Funeral Home in Glidden after 2:30 P.M. on Tuesday where there will be a Rosary at 3:00 P.M. and a Christian Wake Service at 7:00 P.M. by the Parish. Lector for the Mass will be Rita Mathine, and Gift Bearers will be granddaughters Molly and Emily Rich, and Greta Swanson. Mass servers will be granddaughter Sadie Rich and Tanner Headlee. Eucharistic minister will be Blake Stork. Organist for the Mass will be Mary Ross and vocalist will be Mike Bolton. Casket bearers will be sons: Kevin and Jeff Rich, grandsons: Karl and Lars Swanson, and Norm and Tom Soyer. Honorary casket bearers will be Verlin Danner, Ed Walkup, Jerry Mathine, Ernie Schmeiser, Merle McCrea, and Ray Snook. Burial will be at Merle Hay Memorial Cemetery near Glidden with military honors by the Merle Hay Post of the American Legion. Born on August 10, 1926 at Carroll, Iowa, he was the son of Clyde Earl and Lucy (Hamilton) Rich. He grew up on a farm a mile south east of Glidden. He enlisted in United States Marine Corps at age 16 and served in the south Pacific during WW II and he was a survivor of Iwo Jima for which he received a Purple Heart. After he was honorably discharged from the military in 1946 he returned to Glidden. In 1947 he attended Drake University then moved back to Glidden to help his father with the family’s farming operation. Lewis was married to Marion Underberg on November 22, 1950 at St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Carroll by Fr. Poeckes. He farmed, raised cattle and was active in the Iowa Beef Producers. For a short time he operated his own welding shop in Glidden. For twenty years he was a county supervisor, and was appointed to serve on the Iowa State Council of Human Services. He was instrumental in establishing New Hope Village. He was a member of St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church in Glidden and the Merle Hay Post of the American Legion. In his spare time he enjoyed playing cards, golf, working with his Angus Cattle herd, and spending time with his family. Surviving are his wife Marion of Glidden; two daughters: Margaret Rich and her children Karl, Greta and Lars of Iowa City, and Tracy Rich of Glidden; three sons: David Rich of Glidden, Kevin Rich and Laura Page of Webster City, and Jeff and Susan Rich and their daughters, Molly, Emily and Sadie of Omaha; a brother William Rich of Clear Lake; a sister-in-law Ethel Sullivan of Ottumwa; a brother-in-law Alvin and Mardel Underberg of Rocky Mount, Missouri, and several nieces and nephews. Lewis was preceded in death by his parents, a grandson Franz Swanson, his sister Ruth Wheeler and her husband Lloyd, and a sister-in-law Fern Rich and a sister-in-law Ruth and Robert Williams.