October 15, 1928 – August 14, 2023
Roger Lenz, age 94, a resident of Riceville, Iowa, passed away on August 14, 2023. A funeral service will be held at 11:00 am on August 21, 2023 at the United Methodist Church in Riceville, with visitation one hour prior to services at the church beginning at 10:00 am.
Roger was born in Otranto, Iowa to Tom and Bessie (May) Lenz. After he attended elementary school in Otranto, his family moved to Los Angeles where he continued his education through eighth grade before returning to St. Ansgar, where he finished his high school education with the Class of 1946. In 1947, he opened a car repair and sales business in Riceville with his brother Tom, and soon after added a Minneapolis Moline farm equipment franchise where he operated as Lenz Implement Co. He added the Allis Chalmers farm equipment franchise, plus several short lines of equipment that he sold. He was very proud of the business he built, the many individuals that worked for him and customers he was able to serve over his 48 years of being in business, until he retired in 1995.
Roger met Gil Holstad in Mason City and married her on April 6, 1952. Like many others during those years, Roger and Gil spent many weekends dancing to bands at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake. They enjoyed playing cards with friends and traveling to some exciting destinations.
Roger was a long time member of the Riceville Kiwanis. He loved sports and played basketball and town baseball. He also loved to fish, and discovered many farm ponds where he tossed in a line to catch a few fish to take home and put in the fry pan. He spent a lot of time at Lake Hendricks, plus having made several fishing trips with family and friends to Canada. You can bet he came back with as many fishing stories as fish. He enjoyed chasing the little white ball on the golf course. And he enjoyed cheering on both the Iowa Hawkeyes and Minnesota Twins.
His faith was also important to him, and Roger spent a lot of time reading from the Bible, being active in his church and trying to help others where he could.
Roger is survived by his son Jeff (Vickie) Lenz, daughter Judy (Mark) Brown, daughter-in-law Nancy Lenz, daughter-in-law Julie (Steve) Hay, sister Bonnie Gemaelich, brothers-in-law Duane (Sharon) Holstad and Irvin Holstad, sisters-in-law Nancy Holstad and Marlene Hansen. Roger had 10 grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Gil, two sons, Gary and Mike, two brothers, Tom and Dick, one sister, Marlese and his parents.
Memorials may be made to the American Red Cross.
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