Obituaries
Patricia Ann Hepker Hopper
Patricia Ann (Hepker) Hopper, age 76, passed away Wednesday, May 19, 2021 at her home with her family by her side.Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM Monday, May 24, 2021 at the First Christian Church in Vinton with Rev. Dick Jumper officiating. Interment will be held at a later date at Maplewood Cemetery in Vinton. Friends may call from 9:30 AM until service time on Monday at the church. Joseph “Joe” Lynn Balvin Sr.
Joseph “Joe” Lynn Balvin Sr., 63, of Elberon, Iowa passed away Tuesday, May 18, 2021 at Mercy Medical Center, Cedar Rapids, IA, surrounded by family.Joe was born September 26, 1957 the son of Leonard and Florence (Kalinay) Balvin. He attended St. Joseph Catholic School and continued his education with South Tama High School where he graduated the class of 1976. Grace Milroy
Grace Milroy, 103, passed away peacefully May 18, 2021 at the Vinton Lutheran Home of natural causes.Funeral services will be 11:00 a.m. Saturday, May 22, 2021 at the Vinton Presbyterian Church with Rev. Jessica Crane-Munoz officiating. Visitation will be 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. at the church on Saturday. Honoring Grace’s wishes, the casket will be closed to the public. Larry Dean Woolison
Larry Dean Woolison, 74, passed away peacefully Sunday, May 16, 2021 at the Hospice of Mercy in Hiawatha from complications of diabetes.Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Friday, May 21, 2021 at the Vinton Presbyterian Church with Rev. Jessica Crane Munoz officiating. Visitation will be 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the church. Masks are optional.Larry was born January 1, 1947 in Vinton, the son of James and Mardene Grimm Woolison. Paul Willard "Bud" Mealhow
Paul Willard "Bud" Mealhow, 97, passed away Thursday, May 13, 2021, at the Shellsburg Farm surrounded by family.Paul was born on Feb. 19, 1924, the son of Paul Mealhow Sr. and Freda Fuehrer (Schlingman), in a farm house near Shady Grove, Iowa. Paul married Evelyn Eleanor McDermott Andorf on Dec. 5, 1953, in Waterloo. She was the love of his life.Paul attended Vinton High School where he was a Golden Gloves Boxer. Robert J. “Bob” Phillips
Robert J. “Bob” Phillips, 81, passed away Tuesday, May 11, 2021, at the Vinton Lutheran Home, where he had been a resident for the past three years. Visitation will be held on Sunday, May 16, 2021, from 2:00 until 5:00 PM at the Phillips Funeral Home Chapel (212 E. 6th Street) in Vinton. Funeral services will be held on Monday, May 17, 2021, at 10:30 AM at Trinity Lutheran Church in Vinton with Rev. Viola Kolars
Viola Kolars, 99, of Belle Plaine, IA passed away May 11, 2021 at St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids, IA.Viola was the daughter of Frank and Tillie (Valek) Krhounek. She was born on July 25, 1921 on the farm near Wayne, KS; the youngest of five children. Viola attended White and Eureka Country schools in Kansas. She often talked about walking to school in all sorts of weather and, being the youngest, would lag behind. Jerry Reifenstahl
Jerry Reifenstahl, 83, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, died Sunday, May 9, 2021, at UnityPoint St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids. Private family services will be held. Murdoch-Linwood Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Cedar Rapids, assisted the family.Jerry was born April 29, 1938, in Vinton, Iowa. He graduated from Vinton High School and served his country honorably in the United States Marines. Bruce Alan Flickinger
Bruce Alan Flickinger, age 56, passed away April 28, 2021. He is survived by his wife Stephanie (Davitt/Perry) Flickinger,Bruce is survived by his parents Wayne and Wanda (Van Wechel) Flickinger, sister Leigh (Shaun)Bradbury, stepchildren Daniel(Guy)Perry, and Kathleen (Erik)Walker, nephews Matthew and Theodore, niece Josephine and many aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.
Blanche Viola (Bentrott) Garwood
Blanche Viola (Bentrott) Garwood, age 88, passed away Friday, May 7, 2021 at her home at Garnett Place in Cedar Rapids with her daughter by her side.Private family graveside services will be held at Evergreen Cemetery in Vinton later this summer.Blanche was born on September 21, 1932 in Wheatland, Iowa, the daughter of William and Esther (Ihns) Bentrott.