Garth Bigbee

GARTH BIGBEE

Marengo

Garth C. Bigbee, 82, Marengo, died Friday, April 4, 2014, at Marengo Memorial Hospital. Funeral Services: 10:30 a.m. Thursday, April 10, at First Presbyterian Church, Marengo. Visitation: 3:30 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 9, at Kloster Funeral Home, Marengo. Burial will be in the Marengo Cemetery.

Memorials may be contributed by those who wish to First Presbyterian Church, Marengo Memorial Hospital Foundation, Iowa Valley School District Foundation or charity of the donor's choice.

He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Jane; his children: G. Gregory Bigbee (Verla), Pella; Ann Bigbee (Charles Scott), Marengo; Janice Bigbee-Hansen (Bill), Renton, Wash.; Jennifer Storck (Ray), Scottsdale, Ariz., and Jenny Cals (David Weenink), an AFS exchange student from The Netherlands; grandchildren: Morgan and Dakota Bigbee, Pella; Catherine Scott, New York City, N.Y.; Jessica Scott, Des Moines; Will and Sam Bigbee-Hansen, Renton, Wash.; Rebecca Storck, Pullman, Wash., and Ryan Storck, Scottsdale, Ariz.; step-grandchildren: Dustyn Menninga (Molly), Des Moines; LaCosta Van Dyk (Jeremy), Pella, and Heather Vander Heiden (Gary), Knoxville; and also Thomas and Louise Weenink, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; and nine great-grandchildren.

Also surviving are a brother-in-law, Dan Steele (Sue), Westby, Wis., and a sister-in-law, Bernice Steele, Spirit Lake.

Garth was preceded in death by his parents, Lon and Erma Bigbee; his parents-in-law, Richard and Catherine Steele; a brother-in-law, Thomas Steele; and a sister-in-law, Jane Steele.

Garth Charles Bigbee was born Aug. 1, 1931, in Williamsburg, the son of Lon Charles and Erma Lorene Eckert Bigbee. He attended Marengo schools, graduating from Marengo High School in 1949. Garth received a B.S. degree in animal husbandry in 1953 from Iowa State College, Ames.

He and Jane Ann Steele were married June 28, 1953, at Memorial Presbyterian Church, Cherokee.

Garth served in the U.S. Air Force from 1953 to 1956. He was co-pilot on a KC-97 aerial tanker refueling B-47 bombers. Following training, he was stationed at Smokey Hill Air Force Base, Salina, Kan., with assignments to England and Newfoundland.

Following his discharge from the Air Force, Garth returned home and worked with his parents on Gar-Lon Farms, raising Black Angus cattle, from 1956 to 1970. He was named the Cedar Rapids Jaycees Outstanding Young Farmer of the Year in 1959.

In 1970, Garth joined four others in RBOZ, a partnership forming Insurance Service Corporation of Iowa in Cedar Rapids. He earned CLU (Chartered Life Underwriters) and ChFC (Chartered Financial Consultants) professional designations.

Garth was an active 50-year member of First Presbyterian Church, Marengo. He was a member of the Hymn Bells choir, was currently serving and had served previous terms on session and as president of the congregation. He was a member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, Marengo American Legion Post 76, Iowa County Historical Society and was a member and former president of the Marengo Rotary Club.

Garth enjoyed spending time with his family, working with his dog, fishing, hunting birds and mushrooms.

Online condolences may be extended to the family at www.klosterfuneral home.com.