Page 2 - Clear Lake Mirror Reporter E-Edition 12-30-2015

Local NewsPage 2 • Dec. 30, 2015
Memorable 2015 moments in photos OBITUARIES
On July, crews quickly dismantled a steel water tower that had stood Clear Lake High School students enjoyed a great Homecoming Week. New activi- Barbara Ann
over the northwest side of Clear Lake for decades. Workers cut apart ties, as well as a few revived from year’s past, took place, including a Homecoming Thompson
and tore down the 56-year-old tower in one day. Officials say the parade. High School and Middle School bands, along with Homecoming royalty,
105-foot-tall, multi-legged tower had outlived its usefulness and was student floats and honored guests made their way from the school to City Park for a Barbara Ann Thompson of Clear
expensive to maintain. Earlier this year, a one million gallon tower, community pep rally before football. Erin O’Tool and Cooper Merrill were crowned Lake, Iowa died peacefully in her home
which has four-times the capacity of the old tower, was constructed as the CLHS King and Queen. on Monday, Dec. 21, 2015 at the age of
just east of the old tower. 89. She felt blessed to have received calls
and visits from dear family and friends,
Iowa House Majority Leader Linda Up- and was looking forward to seeing Jesus
meyer (R-Clear Lake) signed the oath of and those she loved who had gone before
office in the Iowa House chamber as the her.
86th General Assembly kicked off in Janu- She was preceded in death by her
ary at the Capitol. husband, Don Thompson; her parents,
Fordyce and Lucinda Newell; and her sis-
In August, the Surf Ballroom became the center of the political universe as the 2015 Iowa Democratic Wing ter, Betty Paxton. She is survived by her
Ding brought together four of the Democratic presidential candidates for stump speeches and munching on three sons, Jim, Steve, and John; their
chicken wings. Before a packed house of 2,100, candidates Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Martin O’Malley, spouses, Gwen, Rosalind, and Colleen;
and Lincoln Chafee met North Iowa party faithful. nine grandchildren, and 19 great-grand-
A major Highway 18 resurfacing project through Clear Lake spanned the summer. The high- children.
way remained open during the project, but most areas were reduced to one lane in each direc- Visitation will be held at Ward-Van
tion, starting at the 1400 block of the highway, to just east of the North 20th Street intersec- Slyke Colonial Chapel on Friday, Jan. 8,
tion.Heartland Asphalt, of Mason City, completed the $2,221,150 project. from 5-7 p.m. A Celebration of Life for
Barbara will be held at Zion Lutheran
Church, in Clear Lake, on Saturday, Jan.
9, at 11 a.m. There will be a private burial. didn’t feel love from her. They had the
Family suggests memorial contributions
to Hospice of North Iowa, Opportunity
Village, or Zion Lutheran Church.
Barbara was born on Aug. 1, 1926
to Fordyce E. and Lucinda Mae Newell in
Hood River, Ore. She was the twin sister
of Elisabeth (Betty) Newell Paxton. The
young family moved to Caldwell, Idaho
where the girls’ mother passed away when
they were just 14 years old. They quickly
had to learn how to run a household. Bar-
bara managed the finances, learning les-
sons in good stewardship which she car-
ried with her throughout her life. “Watch
your pennies and the dollars will take care
of themselves,” she would often be heard
saying. As a child Barb enjoyed playing
the clarinet, fishing with her dad, and the
time she shared with her sister as cheer-
leaders for Caldwell High School.
Barbara attended the University of
Idaho where she met the love of her life,
Don Thompson. He captured her heart
after playing his trumpet for her outside
her sorority window. The two were mar-
ried June 22, 1946. Their first home was
an 8’x30’ trailer they had built together in
front of Don’s childhood home in Clear
Lake. They lived there for two years then
they upgraded to a 34’ trailer. Their first
two sons were born while the family lived
in Dinty’s Trailer Park in Coralville, Iowa.
Don’s career later took them to Lincoln,
Mass.; Oak Ridge, Tenn.; Thousand
Oaks, Calif.; and Ames, Iowa. Barb was
always on board for Don’s next adventure
Residents along North Shore Drive, from Buddy Holly Place to 1st Avenue North, along with Clear Lake Municipal Band Director Dan Djuren was on Jean M. LaVarier
all those who enjoy a drive around the lake, were pleased to see that paving began on the street the podium July 4th to lead the band in the Star Span-
reconstruction project area in late April. The underground storm sewer, water main, and sani- gled Banner. Djuren, who was diagnosed with cancer Jean Marie LaVarier, 78, of Ma-
tary sewer improvements were constructed during the 2014 construction season. The 2015 in 2015, was unavailable for much of the concert band son City, Iowa, died Friday, Dec. 25,
improvements included street paving, sidewalks, driveways, street lighting, and landscaping. season, but wanted to share the Fourth with the group. 2015, at Good Shepherd Health Cen-
(Right) Students at Clear Creek Earlier in the day he was surprised by a tribute made by ter, in Mason City.
Elementary cheered and celebrat- the Clear Lake High School Marching Band along the A memorial service will be held at
ed as they all took part in duct parade route. Djuren was the CLHS Band leader for 18 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 2, 2016, at
taping Principal Mike Barkley to years prior to his retirement in 2003. Djuren passed Hogan-Bremer-Moore Colonial Cha-
the cafeteria wall. The students away in September. pel, with Pastor Ed Bard, Hospice of
successfully reached their goal of North Iowa, officiating.
completing 2,000 acts of kind- Visitation will be one hour prior
ness between mid-October and to the service at the funeral home.
World Kindness Day on Nov. 13. Family suggests memorial contri-
As their reward, Barkley agreed to butions to the Jean LaVarier Memo-
be affixed to the wall by his stu- rial Fund.
dents. Barkley announced in De- Jean was born July 27, 1937, the
cember he will be retiring at the daughter of LeRoy and Edith (Rich-
end of the school year. ardson) Sheetz, in Brighton, Iowa.
She was married and had two daugh-
ters, and later married Jack LaVarier
on Sept. 18, 1964. They lived in Illi-
nois, Clear Lake, Tennessee, and most
recently Mason City during their
Clear Lake Mirror-Reporter
in his career as well as in his hobbies, al-
though it often took some “conversation”
to convince her of the wisdom of his deci-
sions. She was an unwavering support to
Don and to her three boys Jim, Steve, and
John. She was strong, spunky, and always
full of love.
As Barbara raised her boys they re-
member her as being practical and mak-
ing them accountable for their choices.
Like the incident in Oak Ridge. Their
backyard was a beautiful forest. One mis-
chievous young son, age 6, started a fire in
the woods with a neighbor boy. Knowing
they were in big trouble they ran home
and sneaked under the bed, trying to hide
from the consequences. A little while later
they heard voices in the house as Barb was
telling the fire chief where to find them.
She knew a lesson would be learned as the
boys heard from this kind, but stern fire-
fighter. The most important characteristic
the boys remember about their mother
was that there was never a time when they
usual rebellious teenage years and other
challenging interactions. Adult life took
them across the country and around the
world. Barb was always there, not hov-
ering, but giving space for her sons and
their families to live their lives. Through
it all nothing ever negated the feeling, the
certainty, that she loved them.
Barb worked for many years as a
secretary for the Head of Development
at California Lutheran College and later
for the Chief of Police of the Ames Po-
lice Department. She enjoyed playing
tennis, boating with Don and the family,
and dinner parties. How she loved invit-
ing people into her home, filling her table
with a bounty of delicious food, and sim-
ply enjoying the company of family and
friends. In each place the family lived
Barb found ways to serve with her gifts
of faith and hospitality. She was a part of
small groups at Zion; volunteered with
the Symphony Guild, at church, Little
League, Boy Scouts, RAGBRAI, the En-
gage! Winter Outerwear Drive, exercise
class, Medical Equipment Ministry, and
the list goes on. Even in her last days, as
her body was feeling the fatigue of her
age, Barb continued to serve as she helped
distribute much needed winter outerwear
to local families, and planned yet one
more dinner party.
In 1999 Don and Barb moved back
to the place of Don’s birth, Clear Lake, to
a home they built and called “The Heri-
tage.” She made the house feel like home
to all who gathered there. Grandchildren
remember her quiet joy as Grandma
would watch the chaos of her grandchil-
dren (9) and great-grandchildren (19)
running through the Heritage, eating all
her food, and using every towel in her
closet as she shared the home and lake
that had so blessed her heart.
Barb was a servant with a deep faith
in Jesus and in the love of God she saw
on display in His creation. How she mar-
veled in God’s goodness. She truly lived
her life out of that foundation of faith as
she began each day with thanksgiving for
God’s gifts, closing her prayer always with
“And thank You, God, for You.” Barb car-
ried with her the sweet fragrance of the
grace of God, and will be sorely missed.
marriage.
Jean was a hard worker and main-
ly worked jobs where she could serve
the public. She never met a stranger
and was loved by all who knew her.
She enjoyed and appreciated her
friends and family. Her purpose in
life was helping and giving to others.
It was way more important to her to
give than to receive. Her motto was
“Do unto others as you would have
them do unto you.” She was a nature
and animal lover and took in many
strays, resulting in her family loving-
ly referring to her as the “Crazy Cat
Lady.” Her daughters describe her as
a colorful character who touched the
lives of many.
Those left behind to cherish Jean’s
memory are two daughters, Son-
dra (Rick) Benson, of Mason City,
and Rhonda (fiancé, Tom Neukirch)
Heintzelman, of Lincoln; a step-
daughter, Julie Mote; five grandchil-
dren, Amy Patterson, Josh Evenson,
Jarrod Benson, Jordan Heintzelman,
and Jarad Heintzelman and fami-
lies; four step-grandsons; two great-
grandsons; four great-granddaughters;
a brother-in-law and sisters-in-law;
many nieces, nephews; and many
she adopted as her family, including
Kathy Larsen and children.
She was preceded in death by her
parents; husband; a sister, Janet Frit-
chen; a sister-in-law; brothers-in-law;
a son-in-law, Larry Heintzelman; and
a nephew, Gary Fritchen.
Hogan-Bremer-Moore Colonial
Chapel, Mason City, was in charge of
arrangements.