Lloyd Nafe

Lloyd Nafe, 96, of Pierson, Iowa passed away on Saturday, May 9, 2015 at the Kingsley Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. Funeral services will take place at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, May 15, 2015 at Meadow Star United Methodist Church, rural Washta, Iowa. Rev. Len Garrison will officiate. Burial will follow at Grand Meadow Cemetery, rural Washta, Iowa. Visitation will begin at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 14, 2015 at the Johnson – Earnest Funeral Home in Kingsley, Iowa. The family will be present from 6-8 p.m. with a prayer and Masonic service at 7:00 p.m. There will also be one hour of visitation at the church prior to the funeral service on Friday.

Raymond Lloyd Nafe was born on Sept. 14, 1918, on the family farm in Cherokee County, Iowa, the son of Miles Victor and Tena Grace (Deming) Nafe. Lloyd attended Grand Meadow Consolidated School and graduated in 1936. Lloyd participated in music, plays and he was the center of the high school basketball team. At the time of his death, he was the oldest living alumni of Grand Meadow School, which is now the Grand Meadow Heritage Center.
Lloyd married Bernice Marcella Ofstad on July 29, 1950 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Sioux City. The couple had three children, George Evan, Nancy Tena and Gwendolyn Ann Nafe. The couple farmed in the Pierson area and they were active in the church and community.
He attended the same church his entire life and was still a member of Meadow Star United Methodist Church. Lloyd had been a member of the Rutland Masonic Lodge in Pierson for more than 50 years.
Lloyd lived through the Great Depression and he said that it made him humble. He started working in the field at the age of 10. He was a kind and very religious man and his faith sustained him through hard times including the loss of his small daughter. Lloyd loved to tell clean jokes and stories and during his delivery, he would laugh the loudest, which was funnier than the joke. He enjoyed sharing puzzles with children and adults alike. He grew acres and acres of popcorn, sweet corn and melons and he enjoyed giving the produce away, especially to city people. Lloyd could tell you the weather conditions and crop prices for just about any year from the 1930s to the present. He enjoyed playing with children and had a real love and special bond with the neighbor kids.
Lloyd was a loving father, grandfather and husband and faithfully visited his wife Bernice when she went into the nursing home.
He is survived by his son, George (Pam) Nafe of Sioux City; daughter, Nancy (Russel) Todd of Bronson, Iowa; granddaughter, Veronica Leigh Gevik of Cedar Falls, Iowa; stepgrandchildren, Jane (Todd) DeMoss of Sergeant Bluff and their three sons, Jack, Gage and Sam, and Nate (Krista) Gevik of Sioux City and their daughters, Natalie, Olivia and Abbey; a sister, Janet (Nafe) Lindsay of Pontiac, Ill.; a sister-in-law, Dorothy Nafe of Pierson; and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his daughter, Gwedolyn Ann Nafe; a brother, Dale Nafe; son-in-law, Gary L. Gevik; and brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, Marvin Lindsay, Harold and Helen Irwin, Carl and Helga Ofstad, and Joyce and Jerry Rouse.
The family wishes to thank Dr. Thomas Wente and his staff at Family Health Care Center in Moville, Iowa, the nurses and caregivers at Kingsley Nursing and Rehab, and Hospice of Siouxland.