1926
Gerald
2008
Gerald Hess
October 7, 1926 — December 24, 2008
Gerald Eugene Hess, 82, of Grundy Center, Iowa, passed away Wednesday, December 24, at the Grundy Care Center in Grundy Center while under the care of Cedar Valley Hospice. Funeral services will be held on Monday, December 29, at
2:00 p.m. at the First Baptist Church in Grundy Center, with Pastor Mike Nemmers officiating. Visitation for the public will be from 1:00 P.M. until service time at the church on Monday. Burial will follow at Rose Hill Cemetery in Grundy Center, with full military rites provided by the Conrad American Legion Post #681. A memorial fund has been established.
Gerald was born October 7, 1926, in Conrad, Iowa. He was the son of Ernest M. and Fanny A. (Smith) Hess. He attended country school through eighth grade and graduated from Conrad High School in 1944.
He enlisted in the Navy in 1944 and served in the South Pacific (Marshall Islands), mainly on the Kwajalein Atoll. He was discharged in 1946.
In 1948, he married Betty M. Hutzell in Eldora, Iowa. Three children were born to this union, Debra, James, and Garry.
Gerald attended barber school in Cedar Rapids in 1949 and served his apprenticeship of 18 months in Conrad and Eldora.
The couple moved to Cedar Rapids in 1951 where Gerald worked at Cryovac before moving back to Grundy County in 1957.
Gerald and Betty farmed from 1957 to 1981 in Melrose Township and also owned the Grundy Style Shop in Grundy Center from 1968 to 1991. They moved from the farm to a home in Grundy Center in 1981 where he lived until he moved into the Grundy Care Center in September of 2008.
Gerald was a member of the First Baptist Church in Grundy Center. He belonged to the American Legion Post #681 in Conrad.
He is survived by his wife, Betty; one daughter, Debra (Bob) Gudahl of Grundy Center; two sons, James Hess of Grundy Center and Garry (Lisa) Hess of Cedar Falls; five grandsons (Barry, Scott (Shawna), and Jay Kuiper of Grundy Center and Erik and Alek Hess of Cedar Falls); two step-granddaughters, Stacy Boyles of Grundy Center and Shannon (Brad) Dennler of Charles City; three great-granddaughters (Madison Grineski and Ashlyn Kuiper of Grundy Center and Allie Kuiper of Huxley; one great-grandson (Austin Kuiper of Huxley); three sisters, Carol Timm of Federal Way, WA; Maxine (Merle) Harmon of Minneapolis, MN; and Darlene (Jim) Conrod of Cathlamet, WA; one brother, Vail Hess of Grundy Center; and two sisters-in-law, Clesta Hess of Spencer, IN, and Darlene Doud of Tucson, AZ.
Preceding him in death were his parents, one sister (Cecile Lindsey), and one brother (Gordon Hess).
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