Peter Ver Meer

Lester, IA        Peter Ver Meer age 71 of Lester, IA died Sunday, December 18, 2016 at the Sanford Hospital of Sioux Falls, SD.           Memorial service will be 10:30 a.m. Thursday, December 22, 2016 at Seeds of Faith United Methodist Church of Lester, IA with Rev. Brent Eliason officiating. Burial will follow in Hillside Cemetery at Lester, IA.        Visitation will be Wednesday, December 21st from 4:00 – 8:00 p.m. with the family present from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. at the Seeds of Faith United Methodist Church of Lester, IA.      Pete Ver Meer was born August 2, 1945 in Rock Rapids, IA, the son of Case and Pauline (Breeman) Ver Meer. He attended school in Rock Rapids and at the age of 17 he joined the US Navy. His years in the service took him to numerous countries before being honorably discharged in 1967. He worked at Morton Building Company in Spencer Iowa before marrying and settling there with his wife, Elsie Folkens, in 1968. While in Spencer, he worked at Bud’s Service followed by the Cadillac Garage. In 1977, the family moved to Lester, IA where he worked for Folkens Repair/MidStates Repair for the next 25 years. In June of 1998, he was united in marriage to Judy Balster. He started working at Valley Machine in 1999 till present. In his younger years, Pete enjoyed racing, bowling, hunting, and trap shooting. For many years he umpired for Lester Fastpitch. His number one passion was fishing and he made numerous trips to Canada with his sons and friends. The last few years he has enjoyed riding UTV in the Black Hills.      Pete is survived by his wife, Judy; children, Rob (Melinda) Ver Meer of Lester, IA; Steph (Harv) Keith of Hudson, SD; Deanna Meester (Jeff Schuller) of Hudson, SD; and Wes (Alicia) Ver Meer of Larchwood; and stepchildren Jason (Amy) Balster of Alvord, IA; and Natalie (Scott) Cross of Lester, IA; 14 grandchildren and 3 greatgrandchildren; one brother, Ike (Nancy) Ver Meer; one sister, Glenda Finch of Larchwood, IA; and many nieces and nephews.      Pete was preceded in death by his father and mother, Case and Pauline Ver Meer; infant son, Jas Ver Meer; and brother, Gerald Ver Meer.