Delmer H. Eben

Sibley, Iowa Delmer H. Eben, age 81 of Sibley, IA died Friday, February 20, 2009 at the Sibley Nursing and Rehab Center in Sibley. Memorial service will be 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, February 24th at the First Reformed Church in Sibley, IA with Rev. Gary Van Heukelom officiating. Burial will be at 10:00 a.m. prior to the service at Holman Township Cemetery in Sibley. Visitation will be Monday, February 23rd from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. with family present from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Jurrens Funeral Home of Sibley, IA. Delmer Eben was born on July 4, 1927 in George, Iowa and was the first son of Fred and Bernice Eben. He spent his early years in the town of George and spent many happy hours with his Grandpa Behrends in the family furniture store. He told stories about the mischief he and his friends would get into tipping outhouses, eating with the hobos who were riding the rails during the Great Depression " boys being boys. Delmer was quite an athlete too. When he was only in the eighth grade, he was already playing on the varsity basketball team. His sister still has a clipping from the local paper singing his praises. When he was a teenager, his family moved to the farm that had been granted to his grandparents when they emigrated from Germany. He wasnt lonely out on the farm though, because his parents had finally given him a baby brother and sister. He was too young to join the war effort in World War II, but he did his part working with his father on the farm. On his first big trip away from home, he suffered the first blow to his strength " he was stricken with polio at eighteen years old. When he was well enough, he began the slow and painful journey back to health. There was no such thing as a rehabilitation center or a physical therapist, so he did his own rehab, the only way he could. He started by just lifting an empty milk bucket to try to rebuild his muscles. Then he would slowly walk around the farm, holding onto the fence for support. His strong will and his faith sustained him through the pain. In the years that followed, he worked on the farm, lead a local 4-H troop and taught Sunday school at Lyon County First. In 1957, Si and Lucille Daniels played matchmakers, and introduced him to Leona Kruger of Sibley. They were married in 1961, and settled into married life in Sibley. They were together until he had to leave us this year. Leona said that there wasnt a night that he wouldnt say I love you to her before he went to sleep. They were each others mates and best friends. The young couple joined the First Reformed Church shortly after they were married and he served as a deacon, an elder and Catechism teacher. He loved his God, and found love and support within the congregation. Delmer and Leona were blessed with two daughters, four grandchildren, and one great-grandson. Through the years, Delmer worked as a school bus driver, a DHIA supervisor, and finally went to work at the Chase Bag factory, where he stayed for 17 years, until his health forced him to stop. Everyone knew that Delmer was very talented with his hands. For many years, he worked with wood. He built an entire miniature barn in his backyard complete with little cupola on the top. He carved birds and bears. And he could spend hours helping to refinish the old furniture his girls would drag home. As his strength started to fail, he turned to needle work. There are hundreds of beautiful works of counted cross-stitch in homes around the country that have Delmers name on them. He took great joy making something special for every new addition to his family. He wanted them each to have something special from Grandpa. He had unending patience in his handiwork work, in his life, and through all of his trials. Everyone always came first with Delmer, which is just one of the many reasons that he was so special and why his going on leaves such a big hole. He will be missed greatly by those he leaves behind: his wife, Leona; his baby sister, Thea Rae or Punk as he called her; his daughters, Diane and Leanne; his grandchildren, Jasmyn, Jordan, Quincy and Sawyer; and the great-grandson, Teegin, who wont ever get to know how what a wonderful grandpa he had; his brothers and sisters-in law, Robert and Betty Kruger, Bev Kruger, Marvin and Jane Albers. We know that he will be greeted by his Lord Jesus and the family that has gone on before him: his mother and father; his brother-in-law Marvin Norling and baby nephew Mark; his brother-in-law Tony Huygens; his second mother and father, Leonas parents Hank and Clara Kruger; his nephew, Steve Lens; his nieces, Debbie Kruger and Karen Harders; his brother-in-law Ronald Kruger; and his little brother and sister-in-law Dudley and Margaret Eben.