Obituary of Raymond Andrew Olberding

DYERSVILLE, IOWA Raymond A. Olberding, 85, of Dyersville, Iowa died Friday, August 7, 2015, at Mercy Medical Center in Dubuque. Visitation will be held from 2:00 – 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, August 11, 2015, at Kramer Funeral Home, 750 12th Ave SW in Dyersville where a parish vigil service will be held at 4:00 p.m. and an American Legion service will be held at 7:00 p.m. Visitation will continue Wednesday morning, August 12th from 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. at Kramer Funeral Home prior to funeral services. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, August 12, 2015, at St. Francis Xavier Basilica in Dyersville with burial in the church cemetery where military honors will be accorded by American Legion Post 137. Rev. Jeffrey Dole will officiate. Ray was born April 5, 1930, in Dyersville the son of Francis and Cecelia (Meis) Olberding. He was drafted into the Army and served 17 months in Korea between 1952 and 1953. He married Genevieve Goldsmith on November 28, 1957, in Earlville. He was an avid baseball player and fan, having played for the Dyersville Flyers and the Dyersville Whitehawks, and he was a lifelong and perpetually disappointed Cubs fan. In 1990, he was inducted into the Dubuque County Baseball Hall of Fame. He drove for BARD Concrete for 37 years, was a retired member of the Dyersville Fire Department, and a life member of American Legion Post 137, the Dyersville Commercial Club and the Dyersville Sportman’s Club. Survivors include his wife, Gen, two sons: Scott (Debbie) Olberding of Lena, IL and Mark Olberding of Miami, FL; two grandchildren: Jacob and Brooke Olberding; two brothers: Delbert (Marjorie) Olberding, Don (Darlene) Olberding, and a sister in-law: Eileen Olberding, all of Dyersville; in-laws: Betty (Hank) Ehrlich of Dyersville, Nellie (Bob) Krapfl of New Vienna and Bernie Nefzger of Earlville. He was preceded in death by his parents, siblings: Gerald (Erma) Olberding, Bob Olberding, Mercedes (Gilbert) Singsank, Germaine (Joe) Schlichte, Catherine (Jim) Griffin; parents-in-law, Arthur Sr. and Minnie Goldsmith; in-laws: Margaret (Clem) Kapler, Delores (Ed) Nefzger, Mary (John) Kupferschmidt, Mildred (Larry) Kramer, Floyd (Marie) Goldsmith, George (Laura) Goldsmith, Jim (Bertha) Goldsmith, Fred (Darlene) Goldsmith and Arthur Goldsmith, Jr. Memorials are preferred to the Dyersville Fire Department, American Legion Post 137 or St. Francis Xavier Basilica. Online condolences may be left for the family at www.kramerfuneral.com.