My Great-Uncle Arthur Hoeft died last night, he was 98. No details on the funeral yet, but the funeral home has a web page that lists the obituaries. Art and his wife Verona used to take care of me sometimes when I was a child, as their farm was just a few miles from ours. As a kid, I used to like going to their house since they always had Sugar Smacks and at home we rarely got sugary cereal, so it was a treat. The last time I saw him was at Christmas, and he was now in a wheelchair most of the time, having fallen last fall.

Update: The obit is now up:

GARNER – Arthur Hoeft, 98, of Garner died Wednesday (February 23, 2005) at the Muse Norris Hospice Inpatient Unit, Mason City.

Funeral services will be held 2:00 P.M., Tuesday at St. John’s Lutheran Church, east of Garner with the Rev. Carl Hedberg officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery.

Visitation will be held from 4 to 7 P.M., Monday at the Cataldo Funeral Chapel, 160 E. 4th St., Garner and one hour prior to services at the church.

Memorials may be directed to St. John’s Lutheran Church, Hospice of North Iowa or the Ventura Senior Citizens.

Arthur Herman Hoeft, the son of Herman and Martha (Reinhardt) Hoeft, was born February 8, 1907 at Fort Dodge. He was baptized and confirmed at St. John’s Lutheran Church east of Garner. He attended St. John’s Parochial School. Following his schooling he worked for various farmers in the Garner and Ventura area. On February 27, 1934 he married Verona Ann Schultz at her parent’s home near Forest City. They farmed in the Ventura, Garner and Clear Lake area. In 1957, they purchased their own farm and in 1966 moved to the home farm. After Verona’s death in 1986 he continued to live at the farm. In 1996, he moved to Prairie View Apartments in Garner.

He was a member of St. John’s Lutheran Church where he was a deacon, Walther League and the Ventura Senior Citizens.

Art is survived by two children, Darwin (Jerrilee) Hoeft of Custer, SD and Carolyn (Larry) Shadle of Carthage, MO; grandchildren, Ann (Tim) Hossler of Beverly Hills, MI, and Laura (Rev. Glenn) Niemann of Pekin, IL; step-grandchildren, Patty (Marty) Allen of Gresham, OR, Jerilee (Paul) Sever of Salmon, ID, Renee (Tom) Dickinson of Post Falls, ID, Dave (Jenny) Squire of Houlton, WI and Bob (Kathy) Squire of Peru, NY; three great granddaughters; eight step great grandchildren; a step great great grandson; two sisters-in-law, Irma (Henry) Bokelman of Ventura and Lucille Schultz of Mason City; and several nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Verona, Mar. 23, 1986; his parents; a brother, Lester Hoeft; a sister, Edna Knopf; and a step great grandson, Mark Sever.

The last line of the obituary is especially sad, as Mark Sever died earlier this week in a snowboarding accident, he was 14. It's been a rough week for that part of my extended family.