April 8, 1930 – December 7, 2025
Melvin Duane “Bud” Symes, 95, of Mason City, passed away peacefully Sunday, December 7, 2025, at Good Shepherd Health Center, where he was reunited with his beloved wife, Joanne.
A Prayer Service will be held at 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, December 16, 2025, at Hogan-Bremer-Moore Colonial Chapel, 126 3rd Street NE, Mason City. Burial will follow at Manly Cemetery.
Visitation will be held one hour prior to the services at the funeral home.
Bud was born April 8, 1930, in Manly, Iowa, the eldest son of Walter LeRoy and Pearl (Newbery) Symes. His family moved throughout North Iowa working farmland, and he graduated from Manly High School in 1948. Shortly after, he proudly served in the United States Army, spending time in Japan before receiving his honorable discharge in 1953.
After returning home, Bud continued working alongside his father on the family farm. On May 11, 1962, he married the love of his life, Joanne Darlene Klipping, and from that day forward they were never far apart. Their marriage was a true partnership built on devotion, hard work, and love.
Over the years Bud worked at the Sugar Beet plant, Morgain Feeds, and later at Mason City ByProducts, retiring in the late 1980s. He could fix just about anything and was happiest with a tool in his hand, especially in his workshop. He built and added onto several of their homes, often improving things with what others might have thrown away. Long before they were popular, Bud created wooden mind puzzles and loved gifting them to family and friends. With his creative mind and problem-solving nature, he could have easily been an engineer.
Bud was thoughtful, funny, and always looking out for others. He was a loyal Vikings fan—still cheering them on to the very end—but more than anything, he cherished Joanne and the life they made together.
Melvin was especially grateful for the care and compassion he received from Bryan, Ashley, and Kelly over the last few years and also enjoyed the many visits from other family and friends.
He is survived by nephew, Bryan (Ashley) Wilson of Council Bluffs; niece, Kelly Moritz of Mason City; sister, Joyce (Tony) Colombo of Mason City; fourteen other nieces and nephews and their families he dearly loved; brothers-in-law, Erwin Moritz and Gordon Wilson; along with many great-nieces and nephews and extended family members.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Joanne; his parents; siblings, Shirley Schultz, Dale Symes, Russell Symes, Donna Walters, Judi Moritz, Evelyn Connell, and Linda Wilson; and two nephews.
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