Obituary of Francis Peter Errthum

Francis P. "Fritz" Errthum, 71, of Guttenberg, Iowa died Tuesday, May 29, 2012, at Guttenberg Care Center, Guttenberg, Iowa as the result of Parkinson's Disease. Fritz was born September 11, 1940, in Holy Cross, Iowa, the son of Raymond and Catherine "Katie" Errthum. He married Marilyn Gassmann on May 5, 1962, in Holy Cross, Iowa. Fritz and Marilyn farmed near Holy Cross. Meanwhile, Fritz worked at the Dubuque Packing Company. Later, he and Marilyn owned and operated the Village Inn in Millville. He did maintenance at G&G Living Center in Guttenberg and loved working for Lansing Brothers Construction until he retired due to his illness. Fritz served in the Iowa National Guard for six years. His favorite hobbies were hunting, fishing, gardening, woodworking and wine making. Fritz built his own log home that he referred to as "Woodpecker Junction". Survivors include his wife, Marilyn; 4 children: Denise (Steve) Sigwarth of Holy Cross, Dennis (Jody McAuliffe) of Guttenberg, Don (Alexandra) of Clarksville, TN and Dawn (Jeff) Hirsch of Dubuque; 6 grandchildren, Raymond and Domenic Errthum, Whitney Wachendorf, Trey Hansel, and Hayden and Alexys Hirsch; brothers-and-sisters-in-laws: John (Jean) Heiberger of Epworth, Jeanine (Jerry) Koch of Dyersville, Loras (Carolyn) Gassmann of Sumner, WA, Karolyn Rose Taylor of Holy Cross, Stanley (Jane) Gassmann of Dubuque, and Marchelle (Phil) Kluesner of Epworth. He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Eileen Heiberger, and a brother-in-law, Joe Taylor. Friends may call from 2 - 8 p.m. Friday, June 1, 2012, at Kramer Funeral Home in Holy Cross. Friends may also call from 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. Saturday, June 2, 2012, at the funeral home. Services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, June 2, 2012, at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, North Buena Vista, Iowa with burial in the church cemetery where military honors will be accorded by the Iowa Honors Detail and the Guttenberg Amvets Post. Rev. Marvin Bries will officiate.