Judy Plank, 80 of Le Mars, Iowa, passed away on Thursday, October 12, 2023 at the Good Samaritan Society of Le Mars.

There will be a Memorial Service at a later date. Expressions of sympathy may be expressed to the family through www.rexwinkelfh.com

Judy Ann Juhl was born on December 14, 1942, the oldest child of Howard ‘Bud’ and Jean (Stowater) Juhl of rural Remsen. Judy grew up on the family farm between Marcus and Remsen. She had fond memories of her childhood pet Holstein milk cow, ‘Coke’.

She started school at Meadow Township county school and when it closed, she then attended Marcus Public School and graduated in 1960. She then attended Westmar College in Le Mars for one year. While at Westmar, Judy met her husband to be, Kenneth Paul Plank. They were united in marriage at Faith Lutheran Church in Marcus, Iowa on December 27, 1961.

Twenty years later she graduated with a BA degree in sociology from Southwest State University in Marshall, MN. She later also received an associate degree in accounting. Judy’s sporadic work history included: working in a welfare department briefly, in a residence for the mentally handicapped for three years, and primarily providing childcare in her home.

Judy and Paul enjoyed traveling, from Costa Rica to Alaska. At a young age, Judy was always an avid reader. This led her to writing prose and poetry. It also culminated in the writing of her autobiographical published book, Paradise Still Has Snakes. She enjoyed gardening and having her hands in the dirt. She also enjoyed baking and sharing her ever-present zucchini bread.

Judy’s spiritual journey led her to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). As a member of the Paullina Friends Meeting, she served on many committees and was also actively involved in the Iowa Yearly Meeting. She was a longtime member of the Northwest Iowa Peace Links.

Judy was always a champion for the downtrodden. She described herself as a progressive/socialist peace activist and was an avid protestor. Her strong belief in peace, nonviolence, and social justice was the guiding light in her political and social involvement. After Paul’s retirement, they began wintering near Douglas, Arizona. There she was at the founding of Healing our Borders, a group attempting to stop the increasing deaths of migrants crossing the borders and to change the nation’s immigration policies. She attended weekly vigils remembering those who perished at the border and handed out blankets to protect migrants from the cold. Judy was also proud of the work she did co-facilitating teaching ‘Alternative to Violence Project’ workshops at the Ford Dodge Correctional Facility. She was also a part of the ‘New Roads Reentry’ team helping men back into society following a prison sentence.

Judy was an active member of the Plymouth County Democrats. She was not afraid to knock on doors or hold up a sign on a street corner for her cause.

Judy’s greatest joy was spending time with her family and friends.

Judy will be lovingly missed by her husband, Paul; son: Kipp Plank of Sioux City; 4 grandchildren: Nick Plank, Lacey Overman, Athena Marshall (Mason Bakker) all of Le Mars, and Rick Plank of Lidgerwood, ND; 4 great grandchildren: Jade, Alex, Boston, and Pierce; brothers: Mark (Cheryl) Juhl and Dale (Faith) Juhl both of Remsen, IA; nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

Judy is preceded in death by her parents; daughter, Kristine Redhouse; and granddaughter in law, Jen Plank.

Carolyn Ardith Smith Treadway, 88, lately of Friends Care Community in Yellow Springs, Ohio, died a little after noon on July 15, 2022, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Born on September 17, 1933, at Emro Farm near Coal Creek, in Keokuk County, Iowa, she was the first of four children of Irving and Mary (Emmons) Smith.

Celebration of Life ceremony will be held on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021.

The celebration of Owen life was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  We are now ready to hold a service, unless local health guidelines don’t allow it.  Masking guidelines will be followed.

Owen was a lifelong Quaker, and the service will be held in the style of unprogrammed Friends worship.  The service will begin at 2 pm, followed by a reception.

The family will be available for visiting from 1 to 1:50 pm prior to the service, and following the service during the reception until 5 pm.

Location: Iles Dunn’s Funeral Home, 2121 Grand Ave., Des Moines, Iowa

If you are unable to attend, there will be a livestream option available at the Iles Funeral Home online guestbook at https://www.ilesfuneralhomes.com/obituary/. Once there, search for Owen Newlin for the livestream option.  For updates regarding the service please visit the Iles Funeral Home website at Des Moines, IA | Iles Funeral Homes.

February 6, 1928 – July 12, 2020
Resided in Des Moines, Iowa

OBITUARY
Owen J. Newlin died on July 12, 2020, at Wesley Acres in Des Moines, IA. Born February 6, 1928, in Des Moines, Iowa, Owen dedicated his entire life to his family and helping farmers feed the world. While a student at Iowa State University, he met Doris Jean (“D.J.”) Coxon, and they were married on July 19, 1952. They had four children. Newlin was elected vice president of Pioneer Hi-Bred International in 1978, senior vice president in 1986, and he retired from Pioneer in 1993. He served as a director of the company from 1963 to 1999. He received a B.S. in Agronomy and a M.S. in Crop Production from Iowa State University. He also earned a Ph.D. in plant breeding and genetics from the University of Minnesota in 1955. He was a 1974 graduate of Harvard University’s Advanced Management Program.

Newlin joined Pioneer in 1955 as a research assistant in the production department of the Central Division. He became production manager for the division in 1964 and served as president of the Central Division from 1967 to 1978. As senior vice president, Newlin had responsibility for the finance, information management, human resources, and seed production operations of the North American Operations group.

One of Newlin’s most important contributions was his decision in 1971 as President of the Central Division of Pioneer, to substantially increase the planned production of hybrid number 3780 very early in its introduction. He and his team convinced the company to make an enormous jump from 10,000 bags to 500,000 bags in one year. Newlin believed so strongly in the performance of the product that he was willing to take the risk, and it paid off. Pioneer sold over 20 million bags of hybrid 3780 over its 17-year period allowing the company to dramatically increase its market share for many years. It was an achievement that was realized because research, production, sales, and distribution all worked effectively as a team.

Newlin was a long-time board member of the American Seed Research Foundation serving as president in 1982-84. He was also chair of the Corn and Sorghum Division of the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) in 1975-76, Past Chair of the Subcommittee for ASTA Strategic and Allied Sponsors and served as president of ASTA from 1985-86. He was named an honorary member of ASTA in 1991 and received the first and only Lifetime Industry Achievement Award from ASTA in 2016.

He was a board member of the U.S. Grains Council from 1970 to 2002 and served as its chair in 1978-79. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the U.S. Grains Council in 2005. In 1975, 1976, and 1977 he raised funds from agribusinesses to support a referendum for a Corn Check-off in Iowa. After two unsuccessful efforts, in 1977 the Iowa Corn Growers Association passed a Corn Checkoff. Over the next few years, he also raised funds to support similar successful referendums in Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Ohio. He raised funds to support three unsuccessful referendum efforts in Indiana. In 1987 he was given the Distinguished Award from the Iowa Corn Growers Association. In 1993 Newlin received the President’s Award from the National Corn Growers Association, and in 2011 he received the first Iowa Corn Growers Lifetime Achievement Award.

Newlin served two six-year terms on the Board of Regents, State of Iowa and was president for eight years. From 1978-1983 Newlin was the chair for the Committee in Support of New Agronomy Facilities at Iowa State University. He was president of the ISU Achievement Foundation from 1985-1986, and he chaired the successful ISU Partnership for Prominence campaign from 1988-1993. He was a member of the Iowa State University Foundation Board of Governors. He received the Iowa State University Alumni Recognition Medal, the Floyd Andre Award for Contributions to Agriculture, the Distinguished Achievement Award in 1988 and the Alumni Merit Award for outstanding contributions to human welfare in 1990. He is a Sustaining Lifetime Member of the ISU Alumni Association and Past Member of the ISU Memorial Union Board of Directors. He received the Order of the Knoll Campanile Award in 1993 and the first True and Valiant Award as well as H.A. Wallace Award in 2008. In 2017 he received the Distinguished Lifetime Achievement and Service Award from the ISU Seed Science Center.

Newlin was a 39-year trustee of Simpson College and served as chair of the board of trustees from 1985-1993. He received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Simpson in 1993. He was a 54-year member of the Rotary Club of Des Moines and as its president in 1987-88 led a successful effort to induct its first 10 women as Rotary Club members. In 2009 he received a Lifetime Service Award from the Rotary Club of Des Moines. He was involved with United Way of Central Iowa serving as its annual campaign chair in 1979-80 and board member for 5 years including board chair in 1983-84. Newlin received the Iowa Volunteer Hall of Fame Award from the Governor’s Volunteer Advisory Council. He chaired the Human Services Coordinating Board of Des Moines in 1986-87. He was a past member of the board of directors of the American Mutual Life Insurance Company (Des Moines), NationsBank, N.A. (Des Moines), Iowa Methodist Medical Center (Des Moines), and Farm Foundation (Oak Brook, IL). He received the Iowa Business Hall of Fame Award in 2000. He was a board member of the Iowa Seed Association from 1967 to 1974 serving as president in 1972-1973. In 1985 he was named an honorary member of the Iowa Seed Association and received an Honorary Life Member Award from the International Seed Federation in 1996. He was named a Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy, Fellow of the Crop Science Society of America, and Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2001. Newlin was a member of the Sigma Xi Honor Society, a distinguished member of Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, and a member of Cardinal Key, Alpha Zeta & Gamma Sigma Delta Honor Societies. He was a member of the Farmhouse Fraternity and received their Master Builder of Men Award in 1998. In 1981, Newlin served as chair of the National Sponsors Board of the Future Farmers of America Foundation. In 1981 he received that organizations Honorary American Farmer Degree, and in 1988 Newlin received the VIP Citation from the National Future Farmers of America.

He received the Friend of Agriculture Award in 1981 from the Iowa Department of Agriculture and the Iowa Chapter of the National Agricultural Marketing Association (NAMA). In 1983 he received NAMA’s Agri-Marketer of the Year Award. In 1995 he received the Distinguished Achievement Award from the University of Minnesota.

Owen is survived by his wife Doris Jean, his children, Tamara (Ed) Gregori of Fort Collins, CO, John (Patty Carton) Newlin of Brunswick, ME, and Christine (Rick) Kovach of Scottsdale, AZ, ten grandchildren, Paul (Maria) Gregori, Rebecca (Andrew) Hill, Eric Oransky, David (Mary) Oransky, Kari Oransky, Mitchell Newlin, Joseph Newlin, Daniel Kovach, Nicholas Kovach, Alison Kovach, and four great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, Jay and Ruth (Owen) Newlin, his sisters Emily (Newlin) Bay and Vesta (Newlin) Hansen, and his daughter Janet Newlin.

A Celebration of Life ceremony will be held Sunday, May 23, 2021.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Iowa State University’s Seed Science Center Research Fund, United Way of Central Iowa General Fund, Unity Point Health Foundation Medical Education and Research Fund, and the Des Moines Valley Friends Meeting General Fund.

“We are sad to announce the death of Harry Olmstead, a member and past clerk of Iowa City Friends Meeting. Harry was a lifelong advocate for people with disabilities. He will be missed by the Iowa City community.”

Harry Fitch Olmstead III was born April 2, 1950, in Norwalk, CT, the only child of Harry Fitch Olmstead Jr. and Harlena Mildred Olmstead (nee Bolton). He was born with a rare disease and doctors said he wouldn’t live past infancy. He beat the odds and lived until age 71. In high school (Brian McMahon High, 1969), he discovered his passions: the Quaker faith, photography, and progressive politics. For college, he went to UW-Milwaukee (1976, BS in recreational therapy). While there, he founded Boy Scout troop 37, which was specifically for differently-abled young men. In 1973, his daughter was born. His career in the boy scouts moved him to Illinois where his son was born in 1978. Then to Michigan in 1980, where he was involved with Quaker Meeting and politics, working to end apartheid in South Africa. In 1992, he joined Teach for America and went to Los Angeles. Through them, he taught in Louisiana and later in Alabama where he finished his Master’s degree. In Alabama, an infection from surgery forced his leg to be amputated. This led to his focus on disability rights. In 2009, he moved to Iowa City. He continued his political activism until his health got the better of him. He passed peacefully with his daughter at his side in Des Moines, IA on July 2, 2021. Harry was a great asset to every community he lived in, always being a voice for the voiceless. He won many awards for his tireless volunteer work, too many to name here. He is survived by his daughter, Heather Fitch Olmstead Hall Sylaj (Sadik), and his son Harry Fitch Olmstead IV. His family would like to thank the staff of the Cardiac Critical Care Unit at MercyOne Medical in Des Moines for their compassion and care. They would also like to thank Mayor Bruce Teague, Shawn Harmsen, and David McCartney for always being there for him. Thank you to Barb Stein for all she did for him and the family. Due to coronavirus and distance/time constraints, there will not be an in-person memorial. In lieu of flowers, cards/donations can be sent to the family to help with end-of-life expenses at: Heather Sylaj PO Box #5 Chilton, WI 53014.