Obituary of John Darwin Gearhart

 John Darwin Gearhart, of Des Moines, Iowa, was born February 14, 1933, in Ira, Iowa to parents John D. and Pearl (Annis) Gearhart.  He passed peacefully on June 11, 2024, at Mercy One Medical Center in Des Moines, Iowa with all six children there to sing him home.

   John graduated from Mingo High School in 1951, and worked at Maytag in Newton.  He was united in marriage with his high school sweetheart, Maryllis Gardner, on June 14, 1952.  John was drafted into the Army and served as a Radio Operator from August 1953-1955, when he was honorably discharged.

   From there, John attended the University of Iowa, earning a degree in Physical Education in 1959.  He was also a member of the football team for two seasons and remained a life-long Hawkeye.  Upon graduation, he coached tennis and was the assistant football coach at Iowa City High.  John and his family then settled down in Brooklyn, Iowa in June 1962, where he taught PE, Social Studies, Science, Math and English and was the head football coach at BGM until 1978.  John also coached boys track, baseball and basketball.

   After 16 years of teaching, John left education and began a career selling insurance; he also worked at Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance before managing Grandma Max’s Restaurant at Bosselman Truck Stop in Altoona.  He transitioned to an accountant role before taking a position at Prairie Meadows in the hospitality department. He never fully retired spending the last 25+ years caring for his son.

   Left to celebrate his long life are his six children:  Tammy Humes of Altoona, Kevin (Marcia) Gearhart of Johnston, Christi Gearhart of Des Moines, Tommy (Carla) Gearhart of Ames, Sarah (Mike) Anderson of North English and Jonathan Gearhart of Des Moines; as well as his eleven grandchildren (Michael, Jacob, Matthew, Holly, Nicole, Christopher (Jessie), Alexander (Victoria), Jessica (Josh), Joshua (Cassidy), Nicholas, and Amelia and three, soon to be four, great-grandchildren (Gemma, Nova, Echo and Baby Schau).

   John is also survived by one brother, Jimmy and four sisters Laverna, Sarah, Sandy and Jolene.  He was preceded in death by his wife Maryllis, his parents, son-in-law David, brothers Delbert and Ronnie and sisters Janet and Patsy.

   Funeral services will be held on June 16, 2024 at 2:30 p.m. at Pence-Reese Funeral Home in Newton, Iowa.  A visitation with the family present will be held prior to the service from 12:30 p.m. until service time at 2:30 p.m.  The family suggests memorials to the Veterans Association or the BGM Scholarship Program in Brooklyn.