Virgil L. Lemke

Virgil, the son of Wesley and Edna Rankin Lemke, was born July 6, 1923 at the farm home of his parents in Morgan Township.  He attended Morgan Township No. 6 School and graduated from DowsHigh School in 1940.

 Virgil was united in marriage to Ardis Jacobsen on August 14, 1946 at the United Methodist Church in Dows.  The couple made their home and farmed in MorganTownship. They were blessed with two sons, Harlan and Dean.  They resided on the farm until moving to Dows in 1992.  After they retired, their winters were spent in Mesa, Arizona.

One of Virgil's greatest joys was raising two boys.  He enjoyed helping them with their 4-H projects and serving as a 4-H club leader.  Showing livestock at the county and state fairs was always a highlight of the summer.  He learned to sing at an early age with his mother at the piano. His favorite music was gospel and barbershop singing.  Virgil sang in a men's quartet at MorganMethodistChurch for 60 years.  He also participated in the River City Barbershop Chorus of Mason City.  In recent months his most enjoyable activity was listening to and watching Southern Gospel quartets, especially the Cathedrals and Gaithers.

Virgil and Ardis enjoyed going to many of their grandchildren's activities as they were growing up, including concerts, sports, and plays.  He proudly displayed their photographs including a recent favorite of his seven great-grandchildren.

In his later years, Virgil was a prolific story writer, desiring to record his childhood memories for his grandchildren and others. Several of his stories of growing up on the farm during the Depression have been published. His story about the Morgan Township Band is in the August/September 2014 issue of "Our Iowa" magazine.

 Virgil is survived by his two sons, Harlan (Francine) of Dows and Dean (Peggy) also of Dows; five grandchildren: Melissa (Dan) Sievers of Colorado Springs, CO; Sara (Jay) Haddix of Monument, CO; Mark Lemke of Irving, TX; Bryan (Erin) Lemke of Robbinsdale, MN; and Nathan (Kristen) Lemke of Darien, IL; and seven great- grandchildren: Ilsa, Anders, Anna, Adeline, Soren, Caleb, and Oskar.

Virgil is preceded in death by his wife, Ardis, his parents, Wesley and Edna, and a brother, Marlyn.