John Lee Claussen, 97

John Lee Claussen, 97, of Hudson Iowa, passed away peacefully on Monday, June 20, 2022, at his home, surrounded by loved ones. Visitation will be held on Sunday, June 26, 2022, from 1:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m. followed by a brief funeral service at the Abels Funeral and Cremation Service, French-Hand Chapel, in Reinbeck, Iowa. Burial will be held privately at a later date. Memorials may be directed to the family.

John was born November 21, 1924, on the family farm south of Reinbeck, Iowa, to Marcus M. and Isabelle Claussen. He enlisted in the United States Navy and served from 1943 until 1946. John was in Naval Intelligence in Washington DC, Panama and Japan, censoring top secret cablegrams. John was proud of his military service, and his team, Voorhies Grain, winning the AAU basketball tournament in Marshalltown and then playing in the National tournament in Denver, Colorado. John was invited to attend training camp for the New York Yankees in 1948, after being named MVP at the Waterloo Courier baseball tournament and was proud of that until his last day.

He married Helen Dunham in 1947, she preceded him in death in 1968. He then married Vivian Hulme in 1971, she preceded him in death in 2015. To those unions 4 children were born: Clayton, Cheryl, Susan and Michael. John began working at the Rath Packing Company in Waterloo, Iowa, he then went on to John Deere, and later Smitty’s Dairy, where he was a rural milk man, delivering milk to Dike, New Hartford and Stout. John then went to work as an Assistant Manager for the Co-Op of Hudson from which he retired in 1986. He kept busy after retirement delivering anhydrous ammonia tanks for the Co-Op of Hudson for many years.

John was 70-year member of the American Legion Action Post #242 in Reinbeck and a 20-year member of the Reinbeck Masonic Coin Lodge #394. He loved his camping and fishing trips to Otter Creek Lake in Toledo, Iowa, and later Deerwood Lake in Evansdale, Iowa. John enjoyed many years of “cheating” at cards with friends and family. He loved to play golf, go to auction houses, watch sports especially the Iowa Hawkeyes and the New York Yankees and was honored to be able take an Honor Flight to Washington DC with his son Clay Claussen in 2011. However, his true joy in life came from spending time with his friends and family.

John is survived by his children: Clay (Vicki) Claussen, Cheryl (Roland) Neil, Susan Parham and Michael (Jody) Claussen; 24 grandchildren; 29 great grandchildren; 3 great-great grandchildren; and stepson Gary Lorenz.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his wives Helen and Vivian; grandson Corey Claussen; brother Merle Claussen; sister Annabelle Ward; stepson Terry Lorenz; stepdaughter Janice VanHauen; and son-in-law Albert Parham.