Eldon J. Koth

Eldon John Koth, age 76, of Galva, Iowa, died Monday, August 30, 2004 at his home in rural Galva.

Funeral services will be held Friday, September 3, 2004 at 11:00 a.m. at St. John Lutheran Church in Galva. Reverend Paul Egger will officiate. Burial will be in the St. John Lutheran Cemetery at Galva. The Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Schaller is in charge of the arrangements.

Friends may call at St. John Lutheran Church in Galva for visitation on Thursday, September 2, 2004 from 1:00 – 8:00 p.m., where the family will be present from 1:00 – 3:00 and again from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Eldon John Koth, son of Emma Fick and John Koth, was born July12, 1928 on his parents’ farm south of Galva, Iowa. He was the youngest of five children. He was baptized in 1928 at St. John Lutheran church in Galva and confirmed in the same church. At the age of 76 years, 1 month and 17 days, he was suddenly taken from our midst to his Eternal Reward in a mowing accident on his farm. The family will remember that it was very near this same place where Eldon’s father, John, suffered a truck/tractor accident that resulted in his death in 1959.

In the early days of Eldon’s life, existence on the farm was not easy, due to the influences of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. Eldon grew to manhood in the Galva community and after graduation from high school in 1947, joined the Navy. He served his country for four years, after which he returned home to help on the family farm and, for a time, to drive a school bus for the Galva School.

Eldon had two uncles who lived in Battle Creek, Michigan. He and a cousin, Wendell Radke, decided to go there, get jobs and see where life would lead them. They went to work at the Kellogg Company where, eventually, Eldon met a very special girl with whom he wanted to spend the rest of his life. Eldon and Marilyn Vashti Mullett were married on June 16, 1963 in Battle Creek, Michigan. They soon had a family of two children, John and Kristin. Eldon continued to work at Kellogg’s but he also pursued other interests, such as traveling abroad and investing.

Although life was good in Battle Creek, Eldon always had a dream to return to his childhood home. When he retired from Kellogg’s, that dream became a reality. He moved to his parents’ old farm and gradually changed it into a place of which he was very proud. He cleared brush and planted many trees—always looking for more places to put them. He kept everything looking trim and nice on the outside while Marilyn, with her artist’s touch, decorated the inside of the house beautifully. Recently, Eldon was honored by the state of Iowa for his efforts in planting many trees around the ethanol plant at Galva, and also for the beauty of his own farm.

Always busy with many projects, Eldon still took time to be in touch with his Creator. A deeply spiritual man, he was a member of St. John Lutheran Church in Galva, where he served as a member on the board for the new addition to the church.

Left to cherish his memory are his wife, Marilyn; son, John and wife Pam of Waukesha, Wisconsin; daughter, Kristin Koth of Chicago, Illinois; two granddaughters, Emily Vashti and Kelly Marie Koth; sister, Lucille and husband Clem Hannel of Sioux City, Iowa; sister-in-law, Lela Koth of Prairie-du-Chien, Wisconsin; several nieces and nephews and other extended family, as well as a host of friends.

Eldon was preceded in death by his parents; a sister, Agnes Koth; a brother, Raymond Koth; and a sister, Nora, who died at the age of four years.