John Gerrit Korthals

George, Iowa 

     John Korthals age 95, of George, Iowa died Saturday, July 10, 2021, at the Good Samaritan Society in George, Iowa.

     Memorial service will be 11:00 a.m. Thursday, July 15^th at the Lyon County First Presbyterian Church rural George, IA, with Pastor Brian Schafer officiating.

     Burial will take place prior to the service at 10:00 a.m. for family and friends in the church cemetery.

     Visitation will be Wednesday, July 14^th with family present from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Jurrens Funeral Home of George. 

     The Korthals family prefers memorials be sent to: Samaritan’s Purse, PO Box 3000, Boone, NC 28607 or the Ken & Lori Stucky Alpha School in Brazil. (An address for them will be added to our website as soon as we get it.)

     John Gerrit Korthals was born on January 28, 1926, the first-born son of Gerrit and Ida (DeWeerd) Korthals, in rural Doon, Iowa. He was raised in rural George, Iowa and attended Wheeler country school. On March 3, 1948, he united in marriage with Mary Ellen Geerdes on her parents’ farm. John and Mary were members of the Lyon County 1^st Presbyterian Church where he served without hesitation wherever he was needed; elder, trustee, deacon, Sunday school teacher, and building committee. He was very proud of the committee’s work and foresight in planning and building a church accessible to all.

     John and Mary made their home southeast of George, after briefly living in Kanaranzi, Minnesota. Farming was in John’s blood, but his passion was problem-solving. He was a critical thinker who would not let a problem stand in the way of his vision but would instead design and create the tool, implement, or process necessary to move forward. John was a life-long learner before it was fashionable to be one. Whatever piqued his interest, he would immerse himself like a scholar whether it was golf, investing, travel, or the Bible. He loved summer vacations with Mary and his children, Tuesday afternoons with his Korthals siblings, golfing with his brothers and grandsons, and anytime spent with his precious grandchildren and great-grandchildren. While all of this was important to him, nothing compared to sharing with others the love of Jesus and God’s beautiful gift of salvation to each and every person he encountered. He was a wonderful role model as a gentle leader and man of God.

     John went to meet his Lord and Savior on July 10, 2021, at the Good Samaritan Society of George with the love of his life, Mary, by his side.

     He leaves to cherish his memory, his wife of 73 years, Mary, and three children: Kerry (John) Pap of Des Moines, Iowa, Rick (Linda) Korthals of George, Iowa, and Robin (Dennis) Wissink of Early, Iowa. He is also survived by seven grandchildren; Rachel (Adam) Hight of DesMoines, Iowa, Jonathon Rensink of DesMoines, Iowa, Wendy (Michael) Riley of Ames, Iowa, Christy Bovenmyer of Manitou Springs, Colorado, Dan (Jessica) Korthals of Dallas, Texas, Erin (Josh) Mohr of West DesMoines, Iowa, and Molly Wissink of Storm Lake, Iowa; eight great-grandchildren; two brothers, Alfred Korthals and Edward Korthals of George, Iowa; one sister-in-law, Floy Korthals of George, Iowa, and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

     John was preceded in death by his parents, two infant siblings, four sisters, four brothers, and a great grandson.