Gerald Gustav Koester

     Gerald was born on June 17, 1931, in a log house on a farm north of West Union, Iowa, to parents Otto and Anna Koester. He was the youngest of their three children. He attended a country schoolhouse (Dover No. 9 - a Fayette County township school), and went on to West Union High School (class of 49) in West Union, Iowa. He completed his senior year in Chicago, Illinois, at Lakeview High School while working at his aunt and uncle’s restaurant.

     Prior to attending college, Gerald returned to West Union in 1951 and worked for Wilbur Ford in their auto body shop, and for A & L Baking Co. as a route driver delivering Kleen Maid bread. He was drafted into the U.S. Army on September 9, 1952, and left West Union for Military Police Basic Training at Camp Gordon, GA. He was then deployed to Korea where he was a Military Police desk sergeant at the army base police station in Chun Chon. During his service, he received the Korean Service Medal with 2 bronze service stars, a United Nations Service Medal, and a National Defense Service Medal. In June 1954, he received an honorable military discharge and returned to Iowa to attend Upper Iowa University in Fayette, Iowa, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1958. 

    Gerald was working for the State of Iowa in the Department of Human Services when he met his wife, Donna Carlson. They were married in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on March 18, 1967, and shortly thereafter moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, where he continued his studies, earning a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Nebraska in 1969. After graduating, he returned to Iowa and continued his work with the Department of Human Services. During his employment with the State of Iowa, he worked across multiple departments including Welfare, Employment Service, and Social Services.

    Gerald passed away on July 1, 2024, at the age of 93, in Westview Care Center, in Britt, Iowa. Gerald leaves behind his wife Donna, his children Eric (Nancy Anderson) Koester and Jennifer (Jim) Young, two grandsons, and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents Otto and Anna Koester, his brother Ralph, and his sister Aileen.

 A service in remembrance of Gerald will be held at a later date.

Warner Funeral Home in Spencer, Iowa, is assisting with arrangements.