John H. Iwan

Sun City West/St. Joseph – John Henry Iwan, 87, only son of Adolf and Myrtle Iwan, passed away June 16, 2008, at home. He is survived by his loving wife DeLoris. He has been honored by his fellow patriots of The Military Order of the Purple Heart at a military service at the Camino del Sol Funeral Home. Visitation will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Wednesday, June 25, at Starks & Menchinger Family Funeral Home in St. Joseph, Michigan, with Masonic Burial Rites conducted at 7:30 P.M. A Celebration of Life service will be held at 10 a.m., Thursday, at St. Joseph First United Methodist Church, 3300 Leco Court, St. Joseph, Pastor Wade Panse presiding. Burial with Military Rites will follow in Ruggles Cemetery in Baroda, Michigan, and a luncheon will be served at the church following the burial. Memorials may be made to St. Joseph First United Methodist Church. Those wishing to share a memory or sign the guest book online may do so at www.starks-menchinger.com. John was born on October 10, 1920, in South Bend, Indiana, where his family owned a farm implement manufacturing business, Iwan Brothers, selling post hole diggers, scythes, sickles, rakes, hay rakes, spades, and shovels worldwide both directly and through the Sears mail order catalog. He proudly graduated from Purdue University with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 1942. After graduation and service in the Army ROTC program at Purdue, he was commissioned a second lieutenant, serving heroically and honorably with artillery observation battalions in the 2nd and 5th Armies, following the D-Day invasion, in the Battle of the Bulge, and at the Bridge at Ramagen. He earned a Bronze Star for saving the lives of several soldiers by carrying them individually several miles to a Red Cross station after their jeep hit and blew up a mine. Shrapnel injuries from this action earned him his first Purple Heart. Machine gun injuries sustained in later action earned him a second Purple Heart. After a lengthy recovery, he served as an advisor in Korea before the onset of the Korean War and left the U.S. Army as a captain. While at Fort Sill, he met his first wife, Juanelle Eilleene Schneeberger, at the Western Union Office in Lawton, Oklahoma, where he went regularly to send messages and money home to his parents in South Bend. In 1948 they moved back to South Bend, Indiana, where he worked as an engineering supervisor for the Indiana and Michigan Electric Company there until 1963, when he was transferred to the Benton Harbor Division. He was responsible for determining routes for new transmission lines as well as the repair and upkeep of existing lines. He retired in 1984 after 36 years. After the death of his first wife, John met the second love of his life, DeLoris Louise Siemens, marrying her in 1978 and then spending 21 wonderful, loving years together, mostly in the sunshine of Sun City West. This romance began because John was a memorably cheap tipper. John enjoyed bowling and chess and had a special fondness for march music, spending time every Sunday recording the Fifth Army Band on WGN and collecting virtually every march record he could find. Mostly he loved his family very much and enjoyed spending time sharing stories of his life and family with them. His puppy Babette held a very special place in his heart. He was a true gentleman soldier who was extremely proud to have served his country valiantly and with honor. He used to tease that after his death he would be the thorn between two roses. He is survived by his son John Neil (Melissa) Iwan, daughter JoAnn (Eugene) Milliken, son Sonny Arthur (Joyce) Ross, stepdaughter Betsy Marvel (Oral) McNees, stepson Roy Alvern Ross, and stepson Lavar Paul Ross; 21 grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren, and one great-great granddaughter. John was preceded in death by his parents, Adolf and Myrtle Iwan, and his sister Constance.