Gary E. Bern, 60

Gary E. Bern, 60, of Garwin, died unexpectedly on Thursday, October 14th, on the family farm. Funeral services will be held 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, October 19, 2010 at the Salem Church in Lincoln, Iowa. Visitation will be from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Monday ,October 18, 2010 at the Salem Church in Lincoln. Memorials may be directed to the family. For condolences please visit www.mitchelfh.com . The Mitchell Family Funeral Home is caring for Gary and his Family. Phone 641-844-1234. Born Gary Elmer Bern on August 10th, 1950, at the Evangelical Deaconess Hospital in Marshalltown, he was the son of Elmer Wilbur and Orleen (Murty) Bern. He graduated from the Gladbrook High School’s Class of 1968 where he was an excellent student who loved learning and was an honor student. Gary later majored in mechanical engineering at Iowa State University in Ames and was a member of the Theta XI Fraternity- living in the “frathouse.” In August of 1972, Gary was drafted into the U.S. Army and spent most of his time as a clerk at Ft. Hood in Texas and was recipient of the National Defense Service Medal. He received his honorable discharge in August of 1974. After serving our country honorably, he returned to study agronomy at Iowa State then leaving to work on the family farm at Lincoln, Iowa. He started carpentry work and traveled most of Iowa and Nebraska on a bridge crew. In the fall of 1989, he met Joyce Bunch in Ulysses, NE. while on the bridge crew. In the spring of 1990, they moved to the Texas Gulf Coast where he worked on a port construction project. They were united in marriage on April 28th, 1991. From the fall of 1992 to fall of 2002, they lived in Colorado Springs, CO, where he worked as a framer building million dollar homes. He very much enjoyed his carpentry work. In November of 2002, they moved to a family member’s farm southeast of Garwin where he started a huge garden. He would begin to conceptualize his garden in the cold of January and brought it to life with Joyce in the spring. They were at the farmers markets selling their herbs and vegetables in the summer. Gary loved to do crosswords and other puzzles, relaxing to games of solitaire and playing cribbage with his father. He was a fan of the sci-fi channel, gardening, and his cats- never really having a favorite since they were all special to him. They too will miss him. Left to cherish his memory are Joyce, his loving wife of 19 years, father Elmer Bern of Lincoln, sisters Carolyn (Jerry) Riley of St. Charles, IL., and Judy (Darryl) Widmayer of Gladbrook, Iowa, one nephew Colin Riley of Normal, IL, nieces Jennifer Diggs and Kimberly Timmons of Lamar, Missouri, as well as many friends. In death, Gary rejoined his mother Orleen, step-mother Clydene Kroeger Bern, and grandparents.