Raymond Garbes

Raymond Garbes age 89 of Nashua, Iowa died Saturday, January 10, 2015, at Linn Haven Rehab and Healthcare in New Hampton. Funeral services will be held 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, January 14, 2015, at the Little Brown Church in Nashua with Pastor Ralph Wedeking presiding. Interment will be held in Greenwood Cemetery, Nashua with Ryan Garbes, Dan Garbes, Pat Lentz, Scott Edson, Daryl Lowe,Chad Nelson, Aaron Lentz, and Ken Lawrence serving as pallbearers. Friends may greet the family 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. Tuesday, January 13, 2015, at Hugeback Johnson Funeral Home - Olson Chapel in Nashua. Visitation continues an hour prior to the service at the church on Wednesday. Raymond Arthur Garbes was born on January 24, 1925 on the family farm home of his parents, Fred Dietrich Garbes and Anna Ida (Priepke) Garbes, in rural Clarksville, Butler County, Iowa. Raymond attended country school at Pleasant Valley in rural Clarksville. He started high school at Clarksville, but did not finish. Instead, he began living with and working for neighbors in the area as a hired man. Raymond was baptized and confirmed at Pleasant Valley Church, rural Clarksville. The Garbes family was a musical family. As a youth, Raymond and several of his brothers and sisters provided music for house warming parties in the area. On February 1, 1948, Raymond married Jeanette Elizabeth Mennenga at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Waverly. Raymond and Jeanette lived and farmed at Clarksville. During this time, a son Roger was born in November of 1948 and twin daughters, Janice and Jean, were born in March of 1951. In December of 1956, the couple purchased and moved to their farm home in rural Nashua. A son Ronald was born in 1964. Raymond and Jeanette lived and worked together on the farm until moving to the Linn Haven Care Center in New Hampton on December 9, 2014. Many close friendships were created with the neighbors in the area as they worked together in the summer baling hay. Raymond became a member of the Little Brown Church in the Vale in Nashua. He was an active member serving on many boards and committees over the years. Raymond is survived by his wife of 66 years, Jeanette; two sons, Roger (Susan) Garbes of Waverly, Ronald (Dawn) Garbes of Ionia; a daughter Janice (Jeff) Edson of Ionia; fifteen grandchildren; twelve great-grandchildren; a brother, Carl (Vera) Garbes of Clarksville; two sisters, Ruth (Don) Fenneman of Greene and Marlene (Bud) Mennenga of Clarksville; and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; a daughter, Jean Hammer; a granddaughter, Tracie Edelen; and eight brothers and sisters, Martha Wadey, Albert Garbes, Laura Franzen, Louise Grawe, Dorothy Kluiter, Frederick Garbes, Harlan Garbes and Caroline Eltzes.