Obituaries : Rickey (Rick) Paul Stoltzfus

Rickey (Rick) Paul Stoltzfus was born on May 25, 1945 in Sioux City, Iowa to Louise Baade and adopted at 3 months to Ellen and Emmanuel Stoltzfus of Lake Park, Iowa. Rick passed away on Saturday, November 12, 2022 at home surrounded by loving family. Rick spent his early and school years in Lake Park. In 1947 they welcomed his adopted sister Cheryl.

Rick attended Lake Park Consolidated Schools, graduating from there in 1963. He was a busy guy and as in many small schools he participated in just about everything from the yearly plays; band - where he was a "fantastic" trumpet player and sports - mainly basketball. He "missed" playing his senior year of basketball when there was a slight disagreement over his hair style. He just refused to cut his beautiful "duck tail" hairdo and so, by mutual agreement, he did not play! His summers were extremely busy with fishing, playing sandlot baseball, football and whatever mischief they could find. He also enjoyed roller skating in the roller rink at Arnolds Park. As he grew into his teens, he gravitated to working at the Arnolds Park Amusement Park in many different capacities; managing the Maas Chicken on the Run Drive-In, and working maintenance at the Roof Garden Ball Room. This afforded him many opportunities and experiences to meet some of the rock 'n roll stars of the era such as The Everly Brothers who he became friends with, as well as Roy Orbison, Conway Twitty, Roscoe and The Little Green Men and Diana Ross and the Supremes. He met Elvis Presley and helped him to have a little privacy by "squiring" him around in Rick's old beater of a 1952 Chevy and getting him a chili dog. After graduating in 1963, he attended Estherville Junior College for 2 years and Mankato State for a quarter and then was drafted into the Army. This was during the Vietnam War, but Rick was fortunate enough to be sent to Germany where he was the mess sergeant. During his time there he was able to see a lot of Europe and served with some very interesting characters. He returned home, was discharged and began looking for work. By a chance meeting with Lloyd Smith, the State Auditor at the time, he was offered a job auditing the community colleges of Iowa. This necessitated a move to Des Moines where he met his future wife, Connie, on a blind date. They were married on November 28, 1969 at the Little Brown Church in Nashua, IA. They enjoyed 52+ years together.

In 1970 Rick and Connie moved to Marshalltown, Iowa where Rick was employed as Assistant Business Manager in the Iowa Valley Community College District which consisted of two campuses in Marshalltown and Iowa Falls. He later became the business manager. During their 20+ years in Marshalltown Rick was active in various organizations within the community and also the community college organizations. He was nominated and received numerous awards, one of those being the American Business Women's Association "Boss of the Year." He also completed his BA at Buena Vista College.

Rick truly enjoyed his children; Jason born in 1971 and Jennifer in 1974. Rick and Connie were active in their children's extracurricular activities, supporting their progress by attending as many events as possible and Rick enjoyed coaching Jason's little league baseball team.

In 1991 Rick retired from Marshalltown Community College and accepted the position as Vice President of Administration at Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo, IA where they spent the next 10 years. While in Waterloo in 1996, on his birthday, Rick was able to meet his biological mother, Louise Baade Buns Goetsch and to find a whole new family of 8 brothers and sisters.

Rick retired for the second time in 2001 and they moved to Okoboji in northwest Iowa, enjoying the many activities of the resort area, particularly boating. Rick wasn't one to sit still, leading him to obtain his realtor's license and helped to develop a small, manufactured home business. The 15 years spent in Rick's home area of the Iowa Great Lakes was a wonderful time as it brought into their lives 7 grandchildren who were his pride and joy. However, when both children and all the grandkids wound up in Eastern Iowa, it proved to be too far to be able to attend all their activities. So, another move was made, ending up in Atkins, IA, approximately halfway between the families where Rick and Connie were able to enjoy the grandchildren they cherished most. He quickly became involved in the community - enjoying the small town, the closeness of neighbors and the morning coffee guys at The Depot. He was also elected to the city council in 2021 where he was so pleased to be able to help guide the city through the various issues. Upon arriving in Atkins rick felt he wanted to do something to promote the town, so he came up with the idea of "The University of Atkins". He had caps and t-shirts made and while it didn't take off like he had hoped, the effort was what counted. Rick was always willing to help anyone who needed it whether physically or with his vast knowledge, sage advice or great ideas - he was always thinking!

Rick was preceded in death by his mother Louise and adoptive parents Ellen and Emanuel; brothers, Steve and Jeff Goetsch.

He is survived by his wife Connie of 52+ years; son Jason (Mindy) Stoltzfus of Muscatine, IA and their children Xander, Zach, Zara, Zoe and Zina; daughter Jennifer (Jeff) Eggleston of Belle Plaine, IA and their children Mason and Maren. Sisters Cheryl Peabody (Dan) of Ozark, MO; Pat Hardie (John) of Montrose, CO; and Lori Goetsch (Kyle Scalis) of Anchorage, Alaska; Brothers Mike Buns (Deb Matney) of Ames, IA; Craig Goestch (Judy) of Cedar Falls, IA; Kurt Goetsch (Andrea) of Ft. Collins, CO; Jim Goetsch of Denver, CO; many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

Memorial Service is 11:00 a.m. Friday, November 18, 2022 at Hrabak-Neuhaus Funeral Service Belle Plaine, IA with visitation one hour prior to the service. Burial will be held at Oak Hill Cemetery, Belle Plaine at a later date. Memorials may be directed to the American Diabetes Association of American Heart Association. Online condolences can be sent to the family at www.neuhausfuneralservice.com