Arlis William Barkmeier

Arlis William Barkmeier, 92, of Fort Dodge went to be with the Lord; he died peacefully at his home on Sunday, July 1, 2018 surrounded by his family. Funeral services will be held on Friday, July 6th at 11:00 a.m. at First Church of the Nazarene, with Rev. Gary Snook and Rev. Shawn Roberts, officiating. Burial will be at Rosehill Cemetery in Rockwell City with Military Rites conducted by the U.S. Army Honor Guard. Visitation will be on Thursday from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Laufersweiler-Sievers Funeral Home. Survivors include his wife of 71 years, LaVon; son Steven Barkmeier and his wife, Mara of Port St. Lucy, FL; daughter, LuAnn Baker of Wellesley, MA; 4 grandchildren, Steven Barkmeier Jr.; Mario Barkmeier; Jonathan Netz; and Danielle Netz; 9 great-grandchildren, Joe, Morgan, Austin, Alaster, Dana, Diana, Giovana, Betina, and Ana; and his daughter-in-law, Neli Padilha. He was preceded in death by his parents, William and Dorothy (Yingst) Barkmeier; brother, Keith Barkmeier and his sisters, Pat Tapps and Kathy Hendricks. Arlis William Barkmeier was born on August 7, 1925, in Lake City. He attended county schools and graduated from Lake City High School in 1943. In December of 1943, he was drafted into the 75th Infantry in the U.S. Army. In December 1944, he was sent to Belgium and on January 25, 1945, he was injured during the Battle of the Bulge during WWII. He spent 3 months in the hospital. For his final year of service, he served in Paris working in an American prison admitting AWOL soldiers, an incredible experience for any 19-year-old to possibly imagine. Following his honorable discharge, he came back to Iowa and attended Ellsworth Jr. College in Iowa Falls where he met the love of his life, LaVon Lentz. They were united in marriage on August 17, 1947 and to this union the couple were blessed with 2 children, Steven and LuAnn. Arlis worked for Rural Electric Corporation in Rockwell City for 32 years and an oil company for 6 years. Besides playing the organ for church services and being the treasurer they were longtime members of the Manson Mennonite Church where he kept the books for 32 years. Arlis was prominent in Christian work. He was the director of Bible Memory Camp for 20 years. Arlis worked with Chuck Colsen in the Prison Fellowship and the Angel Tree Program delivering hundreds of gifts to children who had a parent incarcerated. He held church services and weekly Bible Study groups at the Rockwell City Men's Prison for several years. Arlis loved gardening and cared for 3 separate gardens and more than 100 award winning rose bushes. Arlis was a volunteer at Trinity Regional Hospital for over 30 years accumulating 40,881 hours. In Lieu of flowers, memorials may be left to the Volunteer Program at Unity Point Health or the Endoscopy Unit at Unity Point Health in Fort Dodge. Visitation Thu, Jul 5, 2018 at 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm Laufersweiler-Sievers Funeral Home 307 South 12th Street Fort Dodge, Iowa 50501 Funeral Fri, Jul 6, 2018 at 11:00 am First Church of the Nazarene 1250 N. 24th Street Fort Dodge, IA 50501