Larry J. Witte

Larry J. Witte, age 71, of Rhodes, passed away on Sunday, September 30, 2012, at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Des Moines, Iowa. Funeral services for Larry will be held 10:30 a.m., Saturday October 6, 2012, at St. Johns Church, in Melbourne, Iowa. Visitation will be held from 5:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m., Friday, October 5, 2012 at the Mitchell Family Funeral Home West Marshall Chapel in State Center, Iowa. Burial will follow services with full Military Honors at the Hillside Cemetery, State Center. For further information or to send a condolence please visit www.mitchellfh.com or call (641) 844-1234. The Mitchell Family Funeral Home is caring for Larry and his family. Larry James Witte was born September 8, 1941, near State Center, Iowa, to Anton and Margaret (Propp) Witte. He was the youngest child of seven children. Larry was baptized in St. Johns E&R Church in Melbourne, Iowa. In 1955 his faith was confirmed in the same church. Larry was educated in State Center, graduating with the class of 1959. After graduating, Larry entered the Navy as a mechanic and served for four years before being Honorably Discharged in 1963. During his four years in the Navy, Larry traveled to Australia, Japan, China and Korea. He also enjoyed talking about being on the first ship through the Bering Strait, much to the dislike of the Russians. Larry attended Aviation Hydraulics Systems to be an Aviation Structural Mechanic.In April of 1964, Larry married Barbara Wykle. They had two sons together, James and Jeffery. Larry was employed with Grey Iron Factory until closing. Most recently Larry was caretaker of the Eden cemetery in Rhodes and received many compliments on the appearance of the cemetery. When Larry had time, he enjoyed fishing, coin collecting and watching rodeos. During his younger years he even tried at competing in Rodeos in the bareback event. He was also a generous man who donated to several charities. Larry is survived by his son Jim (Niki) Witte of Fort Leonard Woods, Missouri, his two grandsons: Bradley (Jessica) Thompson and Caleb Wales, his three great-grandchildren: Riley, Izabelle and Howl, all of Texas, his sister Marilyn (Leo) Corwin of Rockport, Texas, and many nieces and nephews. Larry was preceded in death by his parents, his brothers Vernon and Cecil, his sisters Violet, Betty and Velma, his son Jeff and his ex-wife Barbara.