Thomas R. Terry

Thomas R. Terry, 83, of Colfax, formerly of Clarion, passed away Thursday, February 11, 2010 at Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines. Funeral services for Thomas Terry will be held on Saturday, February 13, 2010 at 2:00 p.m. at Ewing Funeral Home, 602 North Main Street, in Clarion with Pastor Warren Curry officiating.  Burial will be at Evergreen Cemetery in Clarion. Visitation will be held on Saturday from 12:30 p.m. until the time of service at the funeral home. Thomas Ruell Terry was born on March 15, 1926 in Rader, Missouri, to James M. and Hester E. (Ikerd) Terry.  He grew up in the Rader area until he joined the Navy during WWII, and served as a Sea Bee stationed in the Aleutian Islands, building airfields for planes going to Russia. Tom married Lila L. Keeling on May 30, 1946, and the couple made their home in Clarion, Iowa.  He worked as a bricklayer, a butcher at the Clarion Locker, and then for 32 years with the D.O.T.  He was well known for building and remodeling homes around Clarion. After retiring, Tom moved north of Colfax, Iowa, near his daughter, Kathy. Tom is survived by his son Johnny (Judith) Terry of West Des Moines, and his daughter Kathy Mathews of Colfax; grandchildren Steven Terry, Pamela (Chandler) Fisher, and Susan Mathews; Great-grandchildren Johnny and Ryan Terry, Sydney and Evan Fisher; sisters-in-law Bertha Terry of Conway, Missouri, and Irene Keeling of Clarion. Tom is preceded in death by his parents, his wife Lila in 2006, 3 sisters, and 4 brothers.