Obituaries 13 December 2017

Bradley L. "Gomer" Messersmith dies at 54

Bradley L. "Gomer" Messersmith, age 54 of New Hampton, passed away on Monday, Dec. 11, 2017 at his home surrounded by his family.
Funeral services for Gomer will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 16, 2017 at Holy Family Parish in New Hampton with Pastor Kevin Frey officiating. Burial will be held at a later date.
Visitation will be held from 3 to 8 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 15, 2017 at Conway-Markham Funeral Home in New Hampton and will continue at the church one hour prior to the funeral service on Saturday. Online condolences for Gomer's family may be left at www.conway-markhamfh.com. Memorials may be directed to the family.
Bradley “Gomer” Messersmith was born March 31, 1963 to Terry and Shirley (Vorwald) Messersmith in New Hampton.  He attended and graduated from New Hampton High School in 1982.  After graduation, Gomer started his adventure in Wyoming working for a Cheverolet dealership.  A short time later he moved to Richmond, Texas where he was hired as a horse trainer by the A.P. George Foundation.  In the spring of 1985 mutual friends introduced Gomer to the love of his life, Cindy Orsak.  Just a short one year later, Gomer returned to Iowa where he began working at Sara Lee.  On Aug. 9, 1986, he was united in marriage to Cindy at Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Rosenberg, Texas.  The couple made their home in New Hampton.  Gomer worked for Sara Lee for several years before starting his lifelong career in the horse industry.  He was proud of his Percherons and enjoyed traveling with his wife and dog, Zeke to horse shows across the United States.  It was on their many travels where Gomer made “deals,” “steals,”  and countless friends.  Gomer was a Big 4 Fair board member for over 20 years, a member of the Iowa Coon Hunters Association and Percheron Horse Association of America.  He enjoyed coon hunting, snowmobiling, chuck wagon racing, fishing, hunting, trapping, and playing Dominoes in Texas.  He loved showing his horses.  But his real pride were his family and friends.  He is greatly missed by those who knew him!
Left to cherish Gomer’s memory are his wife of 31 years, Cindy Messersmith; his sister, Cindy (Jim Siglin) Messersmith-Randall, both of New Hampton; his mother-in-law, Margie Orsak of Rosenberg, Texas, his sisters-in-law, Laurie Cook of Rosenberg, Texas and Debbie (Mike) Tiemann of Beasley, Texas; his nieces and nephews, Brooke (Ross) Kellogg of Stoddard, Wisc., Jake (Cassandra) Randall of Peoria Heights, Ill, Clay Cook of Rosenberg, Texas, Cameron and Cassidy Tiemann of Beasley, Texas; his dogs, Zeke and Zip; extended family and best friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents; grandparents and father-in-law, Leonard Orsak.

Thank you for reading!

To read the full version of all available articles, you must be a subscriber to the New Hampton Tribune's website. To become a subscriber, please click here to be taken to our subscription page. If you already are a subscriber, please click here to login to the site and continue reading. Thank you.