Obituaries 15 March 2017

Ralph “Bill” Slessor dies at 98

Ralph “Bill” Slessor, 98, of Nashua, died Monday, Mar.13, 2017, at the 9th Street Chautauqua Guest Home in Charles City.Funeral services for Ralph will be held 10:30 a.m. Monday, Mar. 20, 2017 at Hauser Funeral Home with Pastor Mike Downey of the Evangelical Free Church in Charles City officiating. Burial in the Slessor Family Cemetery in Nashua will take place at a time yet to be determined.Visitation will be held from 9:30 a.m. to the start of the service on Monday at the funeral home.Ralph “Bill” William Slessor was born Apr. 11, 1918 to Ralph and Rose Groth Slessor in a farm house north of Reinbeck. His family moved to a farm east of Hudson where he grew up. Ralph attended elementary school in Hudson. As a boy, he enjoyed hunting, fishing, trapping and working alongside his father farming.On July 31, 1941, Ralph was united in marriage to Bette L. Roney in Lancaster, Missouri. To this union, three children were born and the couple also adopted a daughter in 1959. Ralph worked on his father’s farm and at the Rath Packing Plant in Waterloo until he was drafted into the army on May 17, 1942. He was deployed with the 169th Cannon Co., the 43rd Infantry Division to the South Pacific Theater and eventually went to the Philippines, New Zealand, New Guinea and Solomon Islands. He served 43 months and was honorably discharged on October 17, 1945.Upon returning home, Ralph again worked at the Rath Packing Plant until he moved on to a 120 acre farm he purchased near Hudson in 1946. He farmed there, helped his father on his farm and attended night school under the GI bill. Ralph enjoyed hunting, especially coon hunting and fishing. He also loved planting large gardens with a wide variety of vegetables, raspberries and flowers. He belonged to the American Legion Post in Nashua and attended the Evangelical Free Church in Charles City.Ralph is survived by his children: Sheila (Ronald) Day of Nashua, Gerald (Stacey) Slessor of Nashua, Vernon (Karen) Slessor of Plainfield, and Tina Trinka of Waterloo; 12 grandchildren: Jeremy, Joshua, Deedie, Martha Mana, Jessica, Lilah, Shelly, Jennifer, Sarah, and Alea; 23 great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.He was preceded in death by his parents; wife of 74 years: Bette (Roney) Slessor; sisters: Ruth Krull, Grace Peterson, and Marjorie Diedrick; daughter-in-law: Erica Slessor; and great-grandson: Issac Day.In lieu of flowers memorials may be directed to the Cedar Point Church in Nashua, the Evangelical Free Church in Charles City, or St. Croix Hospice in New Hampton.Hauser Funeral Home, (641) 228-2323, in Charles City, is in charge of local arrangements.  Online condolences may be left for the family at www.hauserfh.com. 

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