John Clifford Messerly

John Messerly, 68, of Fort Dodge, passed away on Sunday, January 18, 2015 following a courageous sixteen month battle with lung cancer. Funeral services will be held on Thursday, January 22, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. in the Chapel of the Laufersweiler-Sievers Funeral Home and 10:30 a.m. at Corpus Christi Church. Burial will be in North Lawn Cemetery with Military Rites conducted by V.F.W. Post 1856 and the U.S. Army Honor Guard. Visitation will be from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. with a Vigil at 7:00 p.m. all on Wednesday at the funeral home. John is survived by his wife, Diane; three children, Scott Messerly (Melissa) Fort Dodge; Josh Messerly of Los Angeles, CA; Mandy Messerly of Ames; two step-sons, Jay Bohm (Amy) of Dexter, IA; Jeff Bohm (Sheri) of Tarpon Springs, FL; three grandchildren, Conley and Sidney Messerly of Fort Dodge; Olivia Messerly-Metzger of Ames; four step-grandchildren, Emily Bohm of Tarpon Springs, FL; Megan, Mikayla, and Matthew Newton of Dexter, IA; brother, Charles "Bill" Messerly (Mickey) of Fort Dodge; and sister, Judy Powers (Steve) of Cedar Rapids. He was preceded in death by his parents. Clifford in 1997 and Marjorie in 1998. John Messerly was born August 6, 1946 in Fort Dodge. He attended country schools until the ninth grade before he attended Fort Dodge Senior High School, where he graduated in 1964. He then graduated with his AA degree from Rochester Junior College in 1967. In 1967, John was drafted into the United States Army where he served until he was honorable discharged in September of 1969. John became a member of the National Electrical Apprenticeship in the fall of 1969 and was a Journeyman in 1973. He worked for Paul Electric, New Cooperative and started his own business, Cardinal Electric in 1991, which he operated until his retirement in 2014. John played fast pitch softball for 23 years for various Fort Dodge teams. He coached little league baseball and youth basketball for several years. He was a member of IBEW Union Local 347, Thursday Night Farmers Bowling League, Wednesday Night Golf League, where he served as president of the league, Tuesday Morning Senior Golf League and Fort Dodge Noon Sertoma. John was a lifelong fan of the Iowa State Cyclones and the St. Louis Cardinals. In Lieu of flowers, please donate to the Trinity Cancer Center in memory of John. Visitation Wed, Jan 21, 2015 at 3:00 pm - 7:00 pm Laufersweiler-Sievers Funeral Home 307 South 12th Street Fort Dodge, Iowa 50501 Vigil at 7:00 PM Service Thu, Jan 22, 2015 at 10:30 am Corpus Christi Church