Rex Fairholm Sr.

Rex D. Fairholm Sr., 65 of Nashua died Saturday evening, May 2, 2009 at his home in Nashua. Rex has donated his body to The Mayo Foundation in Rochester, Minnesota. Memorial services will be 2:30 p.m. Saturday, May 9, 2009 at the Hugeback & Chenoweth Funeral home in Nashua with Pastor Nate Frazee officiating. The Fairholm family will greet friends from 1 p.m. until service time at the funeral home on Saturday. Private family interment will be in Pleasant Valley Cemetery, rural Clarksville at a later date. Honorary pallbearers will be James Behm, Don Daiker, Orville McRobie, Zachary Johnson, Jason Ungs and Brandon Fairholm. Rex Dean Fairholm Sr. was born October 13, 1943 at Waterloo, Iowa, the son of Don H. and Lola (Reed) Fairholm. He spent his youth in the Evansdale area and graduated in 1960 from East High School in Waterloo. He joined the Iowa National Guard while he was a senior in high school and served for eight years. Rex was united in marriage to Marilyn Ungs on April 11, 1964 at Sacred Heart Church in Waterloo. To this union four children were born. When Rex and Marilyn were first married they traveled the United States as they went where Rex’s job with Pole Sprayers took them. They traveled to 42 states before settling down in the Cedar Rapids area to start their family. Rex worked for Collins Radio as a machinist, Steitzer Auto and Rapids Chevrolet as a salesman. He then started his own carpet business but eventually went to Orkin Exterminating where he retired after 12 years as district manager for the Kansas City district. Rex and Marilyn moved back to Iowa and in 1986 they started their own pizza business, Bestline Pizza in Nashua, Iowa. Their children and grandchildren also helped in the pizza business. Everyone recognized “Big Red” his old beat-up red pickup he drove. Rex and Marilyn closed Bestline in October of 2005 because of health issues. Rex enjoyed having the family around, saying that is was never dull around our place and it wasn’t! He enjoyed watching westerns and the Hawkeye games. He enjoyed the scenery on the “great river road trips” in the fall. Rex was a coin collector. He liked to go to auctions, he could always find something he needed. Rex loved to tinker and fix things and really enjoyed making something work again. He enjoyed the casino’s, playing the nickel machines (never betting the max cause he could win on one nickel), he never won much but he had fun. Rex always said you have to have fun while you can, and he did. Rex is survived by his wife, Marilyn; three sons, Rex (Karon) Fairholm, Jr. of Jacksonville, FL, Daniel Fairholm of Charles City and Donald (Brandy) Fairholm of Greene; one daughter, Angela (Jon) Day of Charles City; Three sisters, Doneta (Bill) Etter, Twilah Steiles and Kalha Krueger; 15 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. He was preceded in death by his parents, Don and Lola; and a sister, Yvonne Bowden