Willard H. “Lucky” Garrels, age 89, of Newell, Iowa, passed away on Monday, November 20, 2006, at Loring Hospital in Sac City.

Graveside services will be held at 2:00 p.m., on Friday, November 24th at the Ferguson Cemetery in Lake View under the direction of the Farber & Otteman Funeral Home in Sac City. There will be no visitation.

Willard was born on October 9, 1917, in Herring, Iowa, the son of John and Ethel (Evans) Garrels. He attended Sac County Country Schools and graduated from Lake View High School in 1935. Lucky continued his education at Capital Business School in Des Moines graduating in 1936.

On June 2, 1940, Willard was united in marriage to Alice R. Ellwanger at the Congregational Church in Lake View. He was inducted into the U.S. Army on March 9, 1943 at Camp Dodge and was one of the first two married men to leave for the Army during WWII. He served through November 4, 1943.

He owned Garrels Hardware Store for two years, after being discharged from the service, and was a salesman for Warren Oil Company in Omaha, which required a lot of traveling. Lucky was well known in the community as owner and broker for Garrels Real Estate from 1968-1994. He was a member of the Storm Lake Odd Fellows, Pomegranate Masonic Lodge No. 408 A. F. & A. M. of Alta, Iowa and the Abu Bekr Shrine of Sioux City, Iowa. Lucky was baptized in June of 1939 and became a member of the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Newell, where he served as trustee and on several committees.

Lucky was a devoted husband, brother, and uncle and will be missed by his family and friends. Survivors include his wife, Alice; two brothers: Clarence Garrels and wife Shirley of Albany, Oregon, and Murlin Garrels of Early, Iowa; and many nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. His parents, John and Ethel Garrels, preceded him in death.