Obituary

Farnhamville - Blake A. Buske, 60, of Farnhamville died Thursday, July 22, 2021 at Trinity Regional Medical Center.

Funeral services will be 10:30 AM Tuesday, July 27, 2021 at Zion Lutheran Church, Gowrie with Rev. Jim Davis officiating. A visitation will be 4:00 to 7:00 PM Monday at Palmer Funeral Home, Gowrie.

Blake is survived by his son, Andrew (Michelle) Buske of Stilwell, OK; grandchildren, Kayden and Abigail; mother, Deloris Buske of Pomeroy; siblings, Brian (Lisa) Buske of Gilmore City, Paul Buske of Oklahoma City, OK, and Kent Buske of Knoxville, TN; and longtime partner, Lorri Lennarson and her 10 grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his father, Ervin Buske.

Blake Allen Buske was born August 10, 1960 in Fort Dodge. He attended Gowrie schools and graduated from Prairie Valley High School. He attended Iowa Central Community College. Following his education, he worked for Buske Industries for 15 years and was currently working for In Line Trucking Services of Callender. Blake loved fishing. He attended numerous fishing tournaments and belonged to the Brushy Creek Fishing Club. His grandchildren were the light of his life.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be left to family discretion.

Boxholm - James Lawton, D.V.M. passed away on May 10, 2020

The family of Dr. James E. Lawton is holding a Celebration of Life in his honor, on Saturday, July 24, 2021. 

Family and friends will gather at the Loren Shriver Community Building in Paton at 1:00pm for visitation. (Suits are not required.)

At 2:00 p.m., a committal service will take place at Dawson Twp. Cemetery. Rev. Philip Berger of the Boxholm United Methodist Church will preside. 

Following the interment, family and friends will return to the Loren Shriver Community Building for a luncheon, served by the Boxholm United Methodist Women.

Doc Lawton is survived by daughters: Lora and Lisa; Grandchildren: James Anthony Segovia, his wife Jolene Schultz; John Charles Segovia, his wife, Marissa Segovia; Leah Isabelle Segovia; and Joel Hughes; Great-grandchildren: Sophia Claire Hughes, Raina Olive Schultz, and Isabel Marie Segovia; other relatives and friends. 

James (Jim) Eugene Lawton was born January 14, 1938 near Linden, Iowa at the home of his grandparents, Clem and Lelah Gibbons. His parents were Isabelle Lydia (Gibbons) and John Peter Lawton who lived near Cooper, Iowa at the time.

The family moved to Dawson Township on a farm near Paton in 1943. At a young age his mother and siblings took over the farm due to John’s illness. The boys agreed to do the farm work if the family got rid of the milk cow.

He attended Paton Consolidated Schools until his graduation in 1956. He attended Buena Vista College for one year and then returned to farming with his family. He was joined in marriage to Lila Mae Oakes of Jefferson, Iowa on August 16, 1958. They lived in a tiny house on the family farm for approximately one year. While living there their daughter Lora Lee was born in 1959. In 1960 they moved to a farm between Grand Junction and Beaver, Iowa. While living there their daughter Lisa Lynn was born in 1961. In 1969 they moved to the Ames, Iowa area where they lived while Jim attended Iowa State University and graduated in 1975 from the College of Veterinary Medicine.

Upon graduation they bought a Veterinary practice in Boxholm, Iowa where he treated small and large animals. After the farm crisis in 1985 many local farmers discontinued raising livestock, so another source of income was needed. Jim returned to truck driving for Allied Van Lines that had begun as a part-time job while in college. Later Lila joined him as a partner in the truck. After Lila’s death in 2004, Jim continued driving for a few more years until he retired.

Career change number three started a few years later with Lay Ministry classes, leading to filling in at several local churches when their ministers were unavailable. In 2019 he was asked to take on his own congregation at the Epworth United Methodist Church in Fort Dodge Iowa where he continued to work until his death.

Jim fulfilled a lifetime wish with a journey to the Holy Lands in 2014. There he felt a real connection to Jesus and his life. The pictures of him on a camel are amazing. He enjoyed the benefits of his different careers. Farming gave him a connection to family background and the  land. Veterinary Medicine let him take care of animals and to help local friends. Truck driving gave him the chance to see family and friends from all over the country. Retirement gave him a chance to help out with his grandchildren after their father passed away and time to reconnect with Lora and Lisa. The ministry gave him another purpose and let him make many new friends while serving God.

On May 10, 2020 Jim passed away from Pancreatic cancer at Israel Family Hospice House in Ames, Iowa with his daughters by his side. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Jim had not been able to visit with his grandchildren or other family members for several months and was very glad that while in hospice they could come to visit him in pairs. Saturday was filled with visits with family members that could come, but sadly, he passed before others could visit on Sunday. He knew they were coming and was looking forward to the visits, but his body could not keep the appointments.

During their married life Jim and Lila began a pattern of opening their home to those that needed it; from family, to foreign exchange students, to high school and college students. Many of them became family if they were not already, including Robert Lawton, Kim Jepsen Peppin, Charles Tilley III, and Mattau Tilley.

Jim was preceded in death by his parents, John and Isabelle; wife, Lila; daughter, Leah Leone; brother, Jerry Dean; sister, Judy Ellen Conklin; and son-in-law, Jose Ulises Segovia. Jim is survived by daughters, Lora and Lisa; grandchildren: James Anthony Segovia and his wife Jolene Schultz; John Charles Segovia and his wife Marissa Segovia; Leah Isabelle Segovia, and Joel Hughes; great-grandchildren: Sophia Claire Hughes, Raina Olive Schultz, and Isabel Marie Segovia. The number of extended family, friends that are family, and those that have been touched by Jim are impossible to list.

Gowrie- John Nicholas Samuelson, 47, passed away on July 20, 2021 at St Mary’s Hospital in Rochester, MN.

 Funeral services were held at 11:00 am Saturday July 24, 2021 at Faith Lutheran Church, Harcourt with Pastor Rod Meyer officiating. Burial was in the Dayton Cemetery. Palmer Funeral Home, Gowrie is in charge of the arrangements.

 Nick was born in Willmar, MN on February 21, 1974. He was baptized and confirmed at Faith Lutheran Church in Harcourt, IA where he served on the church council and led a faith-driven life.

 He graduated from Prairie Valley High School in 1992 and began farming with his father as the 5th generation on the family farm. Nick had a passion for cars, tractors, politics, and logged countless hours on his boat. Nick was a consummate host, in the school house or lake home; grilling on his Traeger or finding his partner-in-hosting crime in Mindy. Everyone will remember him for his loyalty, quick-witted comments, and his willingness to always lend his strength to help others.

 Nick is survived by his girlfriend, Malinda Jacobs (Jaidyn and Jordyn); his parents, John and Marsha Samuelson; sisters, Holley Samuelson (Kendall & Kameron Irvin) and Julia (James) Cliber (Sienna and Christian), and many aunts, uncles, cousins and beloved friends.

 Nick is preceded in death by his grandparents; Harvey and Elsie Samuelson, Frank, Lois, and Dorothy Nelson.

 In lieu of flowers, please share your favorite story of Nick with his closest loved ones.

Memorials may be left to family discretion.