Haas, John Kenneth (1928 - 2025)

HAAS, BILLINGS, NELSON, LOUSER, EDGINGTON, CARLSON, LOWARY, JAMESON, MELODY, PEDERSEN, PETERSEN, NIELSEN, STRANDSKOV

Posted By: Denise Wurner (email)
Date: 3/5/2025 at 17:57:18

Name of deceased: John Kenneth Haas

Aged: 96 yrs, 5 mo, 16 days

Residence: rural Harlan, IA

Born: Sep. 1, 1928; rural Jacksonville, Shelby County, IA

Died: Feb. 17, 2025; location not provided

Funeral services: Friday, Feb. 21, 2025; Immanuel Lutheran Church, Harlan, IA; burial was in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery, Kimballton, IA

Survived by: Wife of nearly 70 years (10 days shy of), Hertha; son, Jerry (spouse, Teresa) Haas of Surprise, AZ; daughters, Debra Billings of Omaha, NE and Donna (spouse, Greg) Nelson of Harlan, IA; grandchildren, Laura (spouse, Daniel) Louser of Bixby, OK, Linda Haas of Plymouth, MN, Jason (spouse, Chelsey) Haas of Bennington NE, Melissa (spouse, Clyde) Edgington of Hamburg, IA, John (spouse, Katy) Billings of Auburn, NE, Petrea (spouse, Jake) Carlson of Amity, MO, Preston (spouse, Shelby) Nelson of Harlan, IA and Andrea (spouse, Cole) Lowary of Atlantic, IA; great-grandchildren, Aiden Louser, Penelope Jameson, Virginia Haas, Levi Edgington, Carolyn Melody, Kristen Billings, Chloe Carlson, Kaylee Carlson, Brody Nelson, Ellison Nelson and Oliver Lowary; sisters-in-law, June Haas of Kimballton, IA, Irma Pedersen of Harlan, IA and Karma Petersen of Harlan, IA; nieces; nephews; other family members and friends

Predeceased by: Parents, Adolph and Johanna (nee Nielsen) Haas; siblings, Ruby, Edna, James, Russell, Amy, John and Donald

Education: Attended Jackson #9 country school, Shelby County, IA, through grade 8

Religious affiliation: Baptized and confirmed at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Jacksonville, IA; active in the church, John served on church boards at both the Kimballton and Harlan Lutheran congregations.

Military service: Drafted into the U. S. Army in Feb. 1951 and stationed at Camp Rucker, AL; honorably discharged in Feb. 1953

Marriage: Hertha Elaine Strandskov; Feb. 27, 1955; Immanuel Lutheran Church, Kimballton, IA; Hertha’s uncle, Reverend Holger Strandskov, presided over the ceremony

Employment: John farmed with his father and was also hired by local farmers until he was drafted into the military; after his marriage, he started farming on a farm SW of Jacksonville, IA, then moved to a farm south of Irwin, IA in 1960; in 1964, the family moved to Harlan, IA, and John was hired as the Texaco tank man. A farmer at heart, in 1968 John purchased a farm across the road from Bowman’s Grove Cemetery, east of Harlan, IA. This 160-acre grain farm soon included a herd of dairy cows, swine and poultry. In 1970, a fire destroyed the original farmhouse, and a new house was built there. For decades this home has been the gathering place for family and friends. He retired from farming in 1990.

Hobbies/Interests: Enjoyed numerous years of family fishing vacations to Rush Lake, MN; after retiring from farming, John enjoyed nearly 30 years of wintering in Apache Junction, AZ, and traveled to Europe, New Zealand, the Panama Canal and 49 states (he never made it to Alaska). In his final years, John enjoyed playing pinochle with friends at the Elk Horn (IA) library, many, many stops at Dairy Queen, and driving around Prairie Rose Lake, IA.

Sources: heartlandfunerals.net