OBITUARIES

Rita A. Julius, age 75, of Humboldt, Iowa, passed away peacefully at her home on Sept. 22, 2026, following a courageous battle with cancer.
Rita was born on Aug. 1, 1951 to Lyle and Kathleen (Bradley) Jennings. She grew up in Bradgate with her five siblings. Rita worked for more than 25 years at Bank Iowa, where she formed many friendships throughout the years.
Rita and Ron Julius shared 54 years of marriage and a life centered around family. Together they raised four children, spoiled eight grandchildren and built a lifetime of memories.
Family gatherings were especially important to Rita, and she had a way of making holidays memorable. She loved preparing everyone’s favorite meals and always made more than enough—because no one was supposed to leave without leftovers to take home. Feeding her family was one of the many ways Rita showed her love, and the meals, conversations, laughter and time spent together around her table will remain treasured memories.

Kathryn “Katie” LaVonne Parsons, 103, of Ankeny, formerly of Humboldt, passed away at her home at Mill Pond in Ankeny on Friday, Sept. 25, 2026.
Kathryn LaVonne Parsons was born July 17, 1923 in Humboldt. She was the fifth daughter of Louis and Alma (Rollins) Shockley. On Nov. 27, 1940, Kathryn was united in marriage to Paul William Parsons in Humboldt and the couple raised their two children while farming for 45 years on the family century homestead.
Katie worked as the office manager for Jet Company and was a member of the American Kennel Club, breeding and competing at the championship level. Katie was deeply involved in the Humboldt County Historical Association, serving as president and charter member, as well as Humboldt County representative for the Iowa Tourism Board. She also served with the Iowa Local Historical and Museum Association as the Northwest Iowa Director.

Richard H. “Rick” Jennings, 73, of Humboldt, passed away on Wednesday morning, Sept. 23, 2026 at his home in Humboldt.
Richard was born Jan. 23, 1953 in Fort Dodge, the son of Wayne and Jean (Waterbury) Jennings. He grew up in Humboldt and graduated from Humboldt High School in 1971. Richard enlisted in the United States Navy where he served two tours in Vietnam on an aircraft carrier. He worked for his parents in their clothing store in Humboldt for a short time and then started a career driving truck for 30 plus years, driving over a million miles in one year as a team with his wife. On Dec. 16, 2000, Richard was united in marriage to Sherry Larson. The couple made their home in Humboldt. He was a fan of NASCAR, the Iowa State Cyclones, helped a friend with rodeos and stock shows, went for coffee every morning, enjoyed his family, dogs, animals, old country music and his yellow Kenworth – International.

Eleanor Frances (Heun) Barton, age 92, of Ames, after developing some heart issues, passed away surrounded by family on Sept. 16, 2026. She was the youngest of 13 children of Norbert and Frances Heun, of Iowa. Born on Dec. 21, 1933, in Fort Dodge, she was the only one of her siblings to be born in a hospital.

A funeral service will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 26, 2026, at Mason-Lindhart Funeral Home. Visitation will be held from 12:30 p.m. until the time of service at the funeral home on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026.
Darwin Paul Torgerson was born April 8, 1949, in Fort Dodge, the son of Miles and Marie (Metzger) Torgerson. He lived on a farm near Bode before moving to Humboldt, where he began school and later graduated from Humboldt High School in 1967.
In January 1968, Darwin enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He completed his basic training in San Diego, California, and proudly served 13 months in Vietnam. He was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps.

John Eppley (93) died Sept. 8, 2026, in Rochester, MN.
John Richard Eppley was born May 17, 1933, in Crawford County, OH, the son of Chester and Grace (Hieber) Eppley. He attended Holmes-Liberty School through sixth grade followed by Bucyrus Junior and Senior High School, graduating in 1951. From 1951 to 1958, he attended The Ohio State University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Dairy Science and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree.
In 1956, John married Josephine (Jody) Craner. They lived in Columbus, OH, and Bellville, OH, before moving to Fort Dodge, in 1960. They moved to Humboldt, in 1970 and to Rochester, MN, in 2011.

A celebration of life will be held from 2-5 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, at the Rutland Town Hall in Rutland.
Linda Lee “LaLa” Bleich Johnson was born March 19, 1958, in Orange City, the daughter of Robert and Beverly (Miles) Goettsch. Her family later moved to the Humboldt area, where Linda graduated from Humboldt High School in 1977. Following high school, she attended Iowa Central Community College to pursue nursing.
In 1978, Linda was united in marriage to Ronald “Ronny” Bleich. They were blessed with a son, Jeramy. The couple later divorced.
Linda met Larry “Grease” Johnson, and the two shared more than 40 years together. They were married in 2021 and made their home in Dakota City. Larry owned and operated JIT Machining in Humboldt, where Linda worked. Throughout her life, Linda enjoyed a variety of occupations, including working as a nurse, at the Rutland Post Office and for floral shops. She later retired from Hydrobikes.

A memorial service was held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Humboldt. The service was livestreamed on Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church’s Facebook Page. Visitation was held from 5 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026, at Mason-Lindhart Funeral Home in Humboldt.
Ashlee Marie Jensen was born Feb. 12, 1986, in Cherokee, the daughter of Michelle (Oleson) and Mike Lindemann, and Jeff Arndt. She attended kindergarten in Manson and spent a few years living in Graettinger before her family moved to Humboldt, where she began sixth grade. Ashlee graduated from Humboldt High School in 2004.

Rick Allen Rodgers was born on Sept. 3, 1964, in Fort Dodge, the son of Ronald Rodgers and Linda (Riddle). He grew up in Corwith and Renwick and attended school in Corwith and Boone Valley in Renwick, graduating in 1982.
On Dec. 15, 1984, Rick was united in marriage to Lisa Hefty at the Little Brown Church in Nashua. They were blessed with two children, Ryan and Cassie.
Rick was truly a jack of all trades and could figure out just about anything. He and Lisa briefly lived in California and Florida before returning to Renwick. Throughout his life, Rick worked in construction, heating and air conditioning, fiberglass, mechanics and small-engine repair. He was very innovative and had a natural ability to solve problems, whether he was working on a project of his own or helping someone else. Family and friends knew they could always call Rick when they needed a hand. He was happiest when he was working on something and always seemed to have a project underway.

A celebration of life was held at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, at Mason-Lindhart Funeral Home in Humboldt.
Richard Freddie Beseke, 63, of Humboldt, took over social hour in Heaven on Aug. 30, 2026. He’s as stubborn as they come and he left this world exactly the way he lived in it: always working on a project, looking for a tool he just misplaced (or one of the kids “borrowed”), chatting up a stranger and surrounded by his loving family.
Richard was born July 29, 1963 to William “Bill” and Karen (Stockfleth) Beseke. He’d always tell you he wasn’t born IN a barn, but right beside it, as he just couldn’t wait to make it all the way to the hospital. He was raised and made a life in Humboldt. On Oct. 24, 1992 he married Brandi Jai Schultz. They briefly moved away, but later returned to Humboldt. Together they raised three children, and later welcomed four beautiful grandkids, who were the absolute light of his life.