James Spiegel

James Howard Spiegel, age 78, was called home to God on April 15, 2023 at his home in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Jim was born June 14, 1944 in Dubuque Iowa to Joseph and Bernadine Spiegel. He lived a full life in spite of suffering polio at the age of 10; which left him with speech and muscle weakness. He conquered the trials of an iron lung, days of speech and physical therapy and a strong will to not only survive, but to succeed. A visitation will be 9:00 AM at St. John the Baptist Church in Peosta, IA on Monday, April 24th, with the Mass of Christian Burial following at 10:30 AM. Burial will follow in St. John the Baptist Cemetery in Centralia, IA. Jim attended St. John the Baptist elementary school in Peosta and graduated from Wahlert High School in 1964, where he met his high school sweetheart, Gloria Hird. They were married on June 29, 1968 at St, Mary's Catholic Church in Dubuque. Jim began working at a young age as a farm hand at neighboring farms and worked at the fairgrounds during his high school years. After graduation, he began his search to find a career that suited him, working jobs at Oakland Dairy in Dubuque, Clinton Engines in Maquoketa and the Chicago Great Western Railroad in Dubuque in 1966. He became a signalman and Gloria and Jim moved to Dekalb, IL where Jim worked in Sycamore, IL for the Chicago Great Western and the Chicago Northwestern Railroad. Rail line mergers and acquisitions over the years, resulted in multiple relocations including Winterset, IA, Savannah, MO, and then to Fort Dodge in 1986. Jim always worked as a signalman, maintaining crossing and train signal lights for nearly 42 years until he retired in 2007 from the Union Pacific Railroad. In retirement, he took up woodworking and made many beautiful pieces of furniture for their home and for his daughter. He had a strong work ethic and was always the first to help someone else without expecting anything in return. He became the local handyman for his neighbors and friends. He was a member of Holy Trinity Parish in Fort Dodge and was a long-time member of the railroad organizations of NARVRE Unit #179 and the UP Employees Club #78 of Fort Dodge. Jim's survivors include his wife Gloria of nearly 55 years, daughter Kelly (Adam) Kinyon and grandson Connor of Garden City, KS, siblings Rose (Roger) Maiers of Dubuque, Jerome "Jerry" (Bonnie) Spiegel of Centralia, and Janet (Jeff) Mozena of Dubuque, sisters-in-law Carol (Roger) Dix, Darlene Ryan, JoAnn (Steve) Wordehoff, Deb (Dan) Grass and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents Joseph and Bernadine (Bradshaw) Spiegel, brothers John and David, sister JoAnn Reinold, in-laws Walter "Mike" (Lillian) Hird, brothers and sisters-in-law Thomas Saul, Albert Ryan and Judy & Bill Winkler. Memorials may be directed to his family for a future charitable donation in his name or to St. Edmond Catholic Schools in Fort Dodge or Divine Word College in Epworth.