Verle L. McGraw, 78, of Pleasantville, IA, passed away peacefully Thursday, December 12, 2024 at Westview Care Center in Indianola. A Celebration of Life Service will be held 3 p.m., Thursday, December 19 at Overton Funeral Home. A time of gathering will follow the service until 7 p.m. Inurnment will take place at a later date in the IOOF Cemetery, Indianola, IA.

Verle was born in Knoxville Iowa on November 20, 1946. He grew up on a farm 7 miles south-west of Pleasantville and lived there until 1980, except for a 6-year stint when he was in college and the army. In 1980, he moved a half mile away to the home he built and lived there for the remainder of his life.

Verle attended elementary school in the small town of Beech Iowa. His parents enrolled him a year early so he would have another student in his class. In 7th grade he attended Pleasantville Junior High and graduated from Pleasantville High School in 1964.

While at Pleasantville, Verle participated in 4-H, FFA, Football, Basketball and Track. Baseball was not an option for him because as his father Dale McGraw put it… "You are mine for the summer." When Pleasantville finally created a sports hall of fame, Verle was a member of the initial class of inductees in 2021.

After high school, Verle attended Simpson College in Indianola on a basketball and track scholarship. After his sophomore year, he decided to play football in addition to basketball and track. The coaches of his scholarship sports teams threatened to withdraw his scholarship if he played football. He played anyway and the scholarships were not withdrawn. As a Senior he was elected team captain by his peers in all three sports. In 1986, Simpson College inducted Verle into their S-Club Hall of Fame as a 3-sport athlete.

At Simpson College Verle double majored in business and fun. He was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. Simpson is where he met the love of his life and eventual bride, Roxanne Watters. They were engaged before he graduated in 1968.

One day after graduation, and first day back on the farm, Verle received his Vietnam draft notification. Verle served in the Army in Vietnam until 1970.

Verle and Roxanne married in 1970. They resided in the house on the family farm where Verle grew up, and it was there they started their family. In 1974 they welcomed their first son Garth, second son Grant arrived in 1977, and their third and final son Graham arrived in 1982.

From that point on, Verle continued to farm with his father Dale for many years and with much success. Purebred Hampshire and Yorkshire hogs were their business. During the latter half of the 1970s, McGraw Farms was the nation's top recorder of Hampshire pigs. They sold breeding stock and raised market hogs, hosting a production hog sale in their own sale barn once a quarter until 1989.

Verle was a prominent member of many communities. He was a Pleasantville school board member, on the board of the Iowa Pork Producers, a Warren County Fair Board Supervisor, a member of the Pleasantville Booster Club, judge for several state fair hog shows, and many more. He gave back to the communities he was a part of.

Life was not perfect for Verle. By 1992, the hog business was in the gutter for individual operators. But you would not have been able to discern the state of the business through interactions with him. Throughout the turmoil he demonstrated a positive attitude and a spirit of support for everything and everyone he believed in.

Verle maintained a strong network of family, friends, and colleagues that he accumulated as he moved through life. Elementary, high school and college classmates, farmers, community members, and agriculturalists were all people regularly encountered in his orbit. He was capable of building this network because he always had room for one more friend. He was able to maintain this network because he was a good friend.

Most importantly, Verle was the biggest fan and supporter of his wife, children and grandchildren. Nothing gave him more joy than to celebrate successes and lament shortfalls with his loved ones.

He is missed.

Verle is survived by his wife, Roxanne; children, Garth (Loni) McGraw, Grant (Jana) McGraw, Graham (Ammie) McGraw; grandchildren, Maggie, Lizzie, and Spencer McGraw, Lane, Josie, Easton, and Julia McGraw, Harper, Hattie, and Cort McGraw; siblings, Linda (Bob) Johns, Lila (Rusty) Haltom; many nieces, nephews and other family and friends. He is preceded in death by his parents, Dale and Dorothy McGraw.

In lieu of flowers, memorials in memory of Verle may be given to the Pleasantville Sports Association, P.O. Box 131, Pleasantville, IA 50225.