John Parham Sr.

JOHN PARHAM SR.

Anamosa

John W. Parham Sr., 91, died Friday, Nov. 21, 2014, at St. Luke's Hospital, Cedar Rapids, following a brief illness.

A celebration of John's life will be held at 6 p.m. Monday at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Anamosa, with military honors accorded as part of the service. Friends may register at the church after 5 p.m. The family will greet friends at a reception in the church fellowship hall following the services. Private family burial will be in the Riverside Cemetery, Anamosa. Goettsch Funeral Home is caring for the family.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Camp Courageous of Iowa.

Thoughts, memories and condolences may be left at www.goettschonline.com.

Surviving are his wife, Verna; two sons, John Jr. (Jill), Anamosa, and Mark (Deborah), Sun Rise, Fla.; his grandson, Zachary (Bree); two great-grandchildren, Kaiden and Kinlee; three stepgrandchildren, Christopher, Richard and Genette; several stepgreat-grandchildren; Verna's children, Mike (Kathy) Schmidt, Springville, and Deb (Ken) Sickels, Iowa City; and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his first wife, Anna, in 2004; and his daughter, LuAnn.

John William Parham was born March 10, 1923, at Union Star, Mo. He was the son of Otis and May Pointer Parham. John graduated from high school and continued his education at Northwest Missouri State before enlisting in the U.S. Navy during World War II. John fought in the European Theater and was part of the D-Day landing. John married Anna Shaver on May 3, 1947, at Cameron, Mo. John taught vocational agriculture in Shelby, Iowa, until 1955, when he took a job with the REC The couple moved to Anamosa where John was the customer service agent at the REC. By the time he retired in 1987 he was the manager of the Maquoketa Valley REC in Anamosa. John married Verna Schmidt in May of 2006 at the Little Brown Church, Nashua.

John was active in the community. He was a member of the Anamosa Rotary Club for 33 years. He served on the board at Camp Courageous of Iowa, was a volunteer with hospice and the Grant Wood Art Festival and participated as a grower entrant in the Pumpkin Festival in the early years. John was honored as an Honor Flight participant. He will be missed by his family and was a great man.