Russell Dean Kelley

Russell Dean Kelley, age 84, of Glidden, formerly of Scranton went to heaven to be with his Lord on Sunday, Dec. 5, 2021 at St. Anthony Regional Hospital in Carroll.

Funeral service will be held at 10:30 A.M. on Thursday, December 9, 2021 at the Dahn and Woodhouse Funeral Home in Glidden with Rev. Rick Hamilton officiating.  Organist for the service will be Marlys Conner and soloist will be Andy Barnes.  Casket bearers will be Joshua Kelley, Roger VanDonselaar, Aaron Struble, Wizer Hamilton, Andrew Hamilton, and Kent Brant.  Burial will be in the Highland Township Cemetery near Churdan.

Visitation will be held at the Dahn and Woodhouse Funeral Home in Glidden on Wednesday from 5 – 7 P.M. where there will be a prayer service held at 7 P.M.  Additional visitation will be held at the funeral home on Thursday from 9:30 – 10:15 A.M.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggest memorials be made to Grace Baptist Church in Glidden.

Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Dahn and Woodhouse Funeral Home in Glidden and online condolences may be left for the family at www.dahnandwoodhouse.com

Russell was born on March 27, 1937 to Henry Harrison Kelley and Grace Mae (Coover) Kelley.  He graduated from the Churdan High School in 1955.  Upon graduation he helped his dad farm and he worked for Don Knapper Standard Oil in Jefferson, Iowa and then Carl’s Phillip 66 in Jefferson.  On Dec. 16, 1956 he was united in marriage to Iris Pauline Murphy of Scranton at the Scranton Christian Church by Rev. Bob McKnight.  In March of 1958 they moved to Killeen, Texas where he worked for a lumber company before moving to Abilene, Texas where he worked for Halliburton Oil Well Company before he became a professional Fireman for the Abilene Fire Department.  In 1969 the family moved back to Iowa to a small farm north of Scranton.  He worked for American Athletic, Inc. of Jefferson, Iowa before going to work as a custodian for the Scranton Consolidated School district.  He worked there for 27 years. He was a member of Grace Baptist Church of Glidden.   After retirement he taught the youth group Sunday School class for several years and enjoyed going with them on mission trips in the summer. He also enjoyed lots of time camping and going to Texas for a while in the winter.    He especially enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Russell is survived by his wife Iris of Glidden, a son, Patrick (Glenella) Kelley of Belmond, and a daughter, Peggy (Rick) Hamilton of Glidden.  Other survivors include his grandchildren Joshua of Vinton, Rebecca (Roger) VanDonselaar of Greenfield, Elizabeth (Aaron) Struble of Glidden, Wizer Hamilton of Johnston, Abi Hamilton of Ankeny, Sarah Kelley of Belmond, and Andrew (Samantha) Hamilton of Jefferson, as well as eight great-grandchildren.  He is also survived by a brother Bernard (Marlene) Kelley of Terril, a sister Treva (Cary) Kelly of Pennsylvania , two brothers-in-law, Larry Murphy (Bev) of Scranton, and Robert Pollentier (Ruth) of Schertz, TX and sisters-in-law Jaunita Faye Wood and Patricia Smith of Bagley, Beverly (Paul) Appling of Eugene, Oregon and Bonnie Fogarty of Grand Junction. Russell was preceded in death by his parents, Henry and Grace Kelley, brothers Henry D. Kelley and Kenneth Kelley.   He was also preceded in death by his sisters Leota (Jim) Stevens, Edna (Everett) Cockrell, Phyllis (Don) Henderson, Lola (Ralph) Sawyer, Jessie (Joel) Bowman and Jeanette Pollentier.