Fern J. Huling

Fern J. Huling, 88, passed away Sunday, August 28, 1994 at the Hancock County Memorial Hospital in Britt, Iowa.

Fern, the son of Byron and Susan (Cumming) Huling, was born March 30, 1906 at Pontiac, Illinois.  At an early age, he moved with his parents to the Corwith area and later to a farm near Britt. Fern attended Britt High School.  He was united in marriage with Gladys Nickerson at the Little Brown Church in Nashua, Iowa.  The couple made their home on a farm near Britt.  Gladys passed away in 1985.  Since 1953, he wintered in Florida. IN 1986, he was united in marriage to Emma Silva of Grand Rapids, Michigan.  They made their home on the farm near Britt and wintered in Florida.  Emma passed away in 1990.

Fern was a "farmer at heart" and was very progressive in his operations on the farm.  He served on the board of directors of Hancock County Mutual Insurance; was very instrumental in bringing REC electricity to the area, the Hancock County Fairgrounds to Britt, and Blue Cross & Blue Shield to the area.  He was a stockholder of I.S.U. experimental station at Kanawha, Board of Director of Britt Farmers Coop and school director of Boone Township.  In 1958, he had the top producing Holstein herd in the state of Iowa.  He held offices and was a member of the Stilson Evangelical United Brethen Church until it's closing.  He later transferred his membership to the United Methodist Church in Britt.

Survivors include three sons: Gene and his wife, Ivalou of Britt; Daryl of Goodell and his friend, Eleanor Robertson; Gary and his wife, Frances of Britt; one daughter, June Soma and her husband, David of Britt; two stepsons: Stewart and his wife, Jackie Bradley of Grand Rapids, Michigan; Butch and his wife, Karen Silva of Ocala, Florida; one sister, Sarah Everett of Britt; twenty-four grandchildren; thirty-seven great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.  Special ladies who cared for Fern the past year are Pauline Bleich, Grace Peterson and Margaret Sankey.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Gladys in 1985, two sons: Marvin and Dale; a son-in-law: Don Roberts; a granddaughter: Connie Huling; four brothers: Wayne, Claude, Floyd and Earl; one sister: Ellen.