John Halbur

A Mass of Christian Burial for John Halbur, age 67, of Milford will be held Friday, September 16, 2016 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Milford. Burial will be at Calvary Cemetery in Milford. Visitation will be on Thursday, September 15th after 4:00 p.m. with family present from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at St. Joseph Parish Center in Milford. A Parish Scripture Service will begin 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Parish Center with a Knights of Columbus Rosary immediately following. John Joseph Halbur was born November 17, 1948, in Milford, Iowa to Clarence and Lenora "Jo" (Lowry) Halbur. He spent his childhood attending school in various districts around the area until he graduated from Milford High School with the class of 1966. He attended Iowa Lakes Community College and graduated from there in 1969. He then proceeded to get a job with the elevator in Corwith, Iowa where he met the love of his life, Loretta Johnson. They were married at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Corwith on February 5, 1970 while on leave from the Army. John was drafted into the Army in September of 1969. He served as a cook stateside during the Vietnam War until April of 1971. From his union to Loretta they were blessed with six children and later the addition of two nephews, David and Bruce. In June of 1980, John started his own business, John's Tire Service, in a barn located on the north side of Milford. He later moved to his current location next to Jowaco in November of 1980 and worked this business until he became ill. John was a member of the St. Joseph Catholic Church and was a very active volunteer. He also belonged many years to the Knights of Columbus serving as Grand Knight for a time. The job he enjoyed most was training altar servers. Some of John's interests were enjoying his grandkids and family, watching the Cubs and playing Scrabble. He often volunteered at St. Joseph Catholic Church with funerals, making cinnamon rolls for various fundraisers and their Thanksgiving dinners. John passed peacefully in his sleep on September 9, 2016 at Spirit Lake Hospice. He is survived by his wife of forty-six years, Loretta; children, Tony (Jamie) Halbur of Rock Valley, Iowa, Drew (Jeremiah) Halbur of Chicago, Illinois, Anna (Larry) Dash of Des Moines, Iowa, Faith (Jesse) Garcia of Milford, Iowa, Alex (Nicole) Halbur of Des Moines, Iowa, Mary (David) Schaefer of Chicago, Illinois, David (Amanda) Halbur of Estherville, Iowa and Bruce (Amber) Halbur of Ames, Iowa; grandchildren, Morgan, Kailee, Darin, Hayden, Cameron, Jay, John, Aaron, Ben and Aliah; brothers, Richard Halbur of Palm Bay, Florida, Gerald (Ann) Halbur of Hilliard, Florida and Earl (Tinna) Halbur of Hartley, Iowa; sisters, Carol (Tim) Kester of Clearwater, Nebraska and Florence Taplin of San Antonio, Texas; numerous nieces, nephews and in-laws. John was preceded in death by his parents, Clarence and Jo Halbur; brother, James Halbur; sister-in-law, Yvonne Halbur and nephew, Steffen Taplin.