Funeral services for Meryl Ivan Wadsley of Early, Iowa are 2:00 P.M., Friday, December 23, 2005, at the United Methodist Church in Early, Iowa, under the direction of the Farber & Otteman Funeral Home. Reverend Carl Benge and Reverend Sharla Hulsey will officiated. Burial will follow at the Early Union Cemetery.

Visitation is from 4:00-8:00 pm, Thursday, December 22nd with family present from 6:00-8:00 at the Farber & Otteman Funeral Home in Sac City.

Meryl Ivan Wadsley was born on December 12, 1914, in the house on a farm near Early, Iowa, that his grandfather had built, and where his father was born. He was the first of five children of Helen (Cunningham) and Meryl Leslie Wadsley. He attended the Early Public School and graduated from there in 1931. He farmed with his dad until he married Dorothy Walker on May 25, 1940.

After they were married, Ivan moved with Dorothy to a farm one mile north across the section from where he grew up, and he farmed there, raising cattle, hogs, and chickens until retirement. They raised five children on the farm. In 1997 they moved to Oak Terrace Estates in Sac City, Iowa, and in 2000, Ivan moved to Park View Care Center in Sac City.

Before he retired from farming, Ivan began working for H&R Block in Sioux City figuring income taxes for people. This work was especially satisfying to him because he had always enjoyed working with numbers. He drove from Early to Sioux City every day during tax season for over twenty years, until he retired from tax work when he was in his seventies.

Ivan was an active member of the Early community. He served for a number of years on the Board of Education for the Early Public School, and he served as president of the group for a period of time. He was active in the Methodist Church where he served on various church boards, and he taught Sunday school. He was always rather quiet, but when he spoke, people listened because he was well informed and had a lot of knowledge, he thought things through, and he had a lot of wisdom. People sought him out for advice.

Ivan loved to drive, and he took his family on many long trips. Through the years, he and Dorothy visited all of the continental states except two, most of the Canadian provinces, and they took two trips to Europe.

Ivan’s family was his life. When his children were young, he kept things lively with all sorts of original and nonsensical play. As they grew up, he instilled his sense of responsibility in them as they worked with him on the farm and as he encouraged and supported their school and church activities. Ivan liked to sing and he collected a lot of records, which the family enjoyed playing and listening to. Because of his appreciation for music, he made sure that all of his children learned to play the piano and other musical instruments. Education was important to him, and he supported all of his children through college. He enjoyed taking the family to ice shows, concerts, and stage shows in Sioux City and Des Moines. As his children became adults and moved to other locations, and no matter how old they became, Ivan never stopped being protective of them and thinking of how he could help them out. Nothing made him happier than when the whole family was together.

Ivan passed away on Monday, December 19, 2005, at Park View Care Center in Sac City. He was preceded in death by his parents, and his sisters, Iris, who died as an infant, and Arla Clyatt. He is survived by his wife, Dorothy; his sister, Betty Jo Miller of Lawrence, Kansas; his brother, Dick Wadsley of Early; his children, Virginia Wadsley of Des Moines; Barbara Willett and her husband, Gary, of Jefferson; Mary Wadsley of Staten Island, New York; Joe Wadsley and his wife, Julie, of Early; and Carol Wadsley of Storm Lake; three grandchildren, Brent Willett and his wife Liberty of Denver, Colorado; Karmen Gruhn and her husband Jason of Belle Plaine, Minnesota; and Jason Wadsley and his wife Beth of Belle Plaine, Minnesota; and great-grandsons, Trevor and Derek Gruhn.