Obituary of Ira Rolf Pfantz

Ira Rolf Pfantz, the son of Ira and Rose (Wolken) Pfantz, was born June 8, 1937 in State Center, Iowa. He graduated from high school in State Center. Ira served his country in the United States Army from 1960 to 1963 and was a member of the American Legion Post 0122 in State Center. He worked as a material handler for Dunham-Bush, Inc. in Marshalltown. On November 29, 1986, Ira was united in marriage with Karen B. Vander Zyl in Newton, Iowa. Ira was a true outdoorsman. He enjoyed fishing, hunting, trapping and was a bee keeper. Ira took pride in winning the blue ribbon sweepstakes at the Iowa State Fair five years in a row for his honey. Ira died on Friday, January 3, 2014, at the Skiff Medical Center under the care of Skiff Hospice. He was 76 years old. Ira was preceded in death by his parents; a step grandson, Jeremy Bryant; his brothers, Theodore Pfantz and Eldon Pfantz; his sisters, Elaine Schaper and Violet Meier; his step brother, George Pfantz and his step sister, Erma Riese. Those left to honor Ira's memory include his wife, Karen Pfantz of Newton; his daughters, Leann (Mike) White of Rhodes, IA and Teri (Ahmet) Baydar of Boston, MA; his step daughters, Melody (Garry) Landgrebe of Newton and Amy (Tim) Clark of Newton; his step son, Daniel (Paula) Dahlin of State Center, IA; his grandsons, Carter White and Braden White; his step grandchildren, Kenneth Landgrebe, Kerri Robinson, Cory Clark, Brooks Clark and Tyler Clark; his six step great grandchildren and his brother, Robert Pfantz of Brandon, FL. Funeral services will be held 11:00 am, Wednesday, January 8th at Community Heights Alliance Church in Newton. The family will greet friends from 10:00 am until service time on Wednesday and immediately following the service during lunch. Memorials may be designated to Skiff Hospice and may be left at the church or at Pence ~ Reese Funeral Home.