JOHN EDWARD KLEYMANN

John E. Kleymann, our beloved husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather and friend, went to be with the Lord Tuesday, February 13, 2018, at the age of 87.  His courageous spirit, zeal for life, kind heart, and love for his family and friends will be missed by all who knew and loved him.  Our earthly loss is Heaven's gain.

John was born January 31, 1931 to John C. and Velma (Speed) Kleymann in Des Moines, IA and later moved to Warren County, IA where they lived for the remainder of their lives.

John attended Martensdale St. Marys School and later attended Simpson College (Indianola, IA) on a baseball scholarship.  John met the love of his life, Geraldine Hakes of Norwalk, at a basketball game. They were married  September 22, 1951 and had seven children, Connie (Tom) Lull of Martensdale, Cathi (Joe Spick) of Norwalk, Carmen (Roger) Hulbert of Carmel, CA, John Kleymann of Denver, CO, twins Jeff (Jackie) Kleymann of Eureka Springs, AR, Jan Ostrander of Denver, CO, and Cynthia Kleymann of West Des Moines.  John also has 13 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren.

John worked for many years transporting milk from different dairy farms to local dairies in Des Moines.  He also worked nights as a machinist at Pirelli Armstrong. The night work at Pirelli Armstrong allowed John to pursue his passions, which were family and farming.  John retired in 1993 and he and his wife traveled extensively via RV until they decided that south Texas was their winter home.

John became a licensed private pilot and loved to fly the airplane with his wife Jerrie and whoever else was lucky enough to be invited for a ride or a flight breakfast.  John also loved having fun with the entire family while boating, water skiing, ice skating, playing softball, playing tennis or playing ping pong and cribbage. John was also a master at woodcarving which usually displayed the "Tiger Hawk" of his beloved Iowa Hawkeyes.

Visitation will be held 4 to 7 p.m., Friday, February 16 at Overton Funeral Home in Indianola where fa mily will be present from 5 to 7 p.m. Mass will be held 10 a.m., Saturday, February 17 at St. John's Catholic Church in Norwalk. Burial will be in the Churchville Cemetery. Memorials may be given to the Martensdale Fire Department Association or the Norwalk Fire Department.