Richard "Rick" Marker

Richard "Rick" Marker, age 79, of Maynard, Minnesota passed away Sunday, September 29, 2024 at his home surrounded by family. He loved God, family, country and life.

Funeral Services were held Friday, October 4, 2024 at Bunde Christian Reformed Church in Bunde at 10:30 AM. Interment was Saturday, October 5, 2024 at 1:30 PM at Garfield Township Cemetery in Webb, Iowa.

Rick was born March 24, 1945, in Spencer, Iowa, the son of Karl and Ardith (Johns) Marker. He was baptized and confirmed at the Methodist church in Webb, Iowa. He was raised on a farm near Webb where he discovered his love of animals, especially horses. He graduated from Webb High School in 1963. He was inducted into the United States Army in 1965. He had basic training in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri; surveillance training in Fort Devon, Massachusetts; and then spent three years serving in the Army Security Agency in Okinawa. He was discharged in 1969 at the rank of E-5. 

Rick met Patricia Mileham, the love of his life, in high school. They were married December 27, 1965, on one the coldest nights of the year. Known for his sense of humor, Rick would say with a grin, “It stormed on our wedding night, and it’s been storming ever since.”

Following Rick’s discharge and over the next 22 years they had four children and farmed in the Webb area. He was active in local affairs, the school board, and was awarded South Clay Spartan of the Year in 1984.

The Marker family became a casualty of the 1980s farm crisis. As a result, Rick worked with Joan Blundell’s organization to aid and support numerous farmers and families caught up in the crisis. He participated in farm support groups and was known to serve as a negotiator between farmers and bankers.

Rick returned to college and in 1989 graduated from Buena Vista College in Storm Lake, Iowa, with a degree in political science. In 1991 the family moved to Minnesota, and he became a hog buyer for IBP and finished his career in the swine genetics industry. 

Throughout his life, Rick enjoyed meeting people. After moving to Minnesota, he made numerous friends in the Hutterite Colonies in South Dakota and Minnesota. He was very active in Bunde Christian Reformed Church, serving on the church council, as a Sunday School teacher, worked with youth groups, conducted and participated in numerous Bible Studies, and led a men’s group. He also led chapel services at a nursing home in Clara City and was trained in ministry by the Leadership Development Network with the Christian Reformed Church.

Rick was a renaissance man whose had a wide range of diverse interests. He loved participating in music, theatre and dance, as well as outdoor activities such as hunting and fishing. He was an avid fisherman who enjoyed gathering with old friends for annual fishing trips to South Dakota and Canada. He was well known for his annual Christmas letter named “Another Year with the Von Markers” that he had been writing for over 30 years. He and Pat remodeled their home and took on numerous projects for family members as well. He was an early user of the home computer and Internet and eventually founded a business serving as a consultant for other individuals. 

His garage was a Man Cave before Man Caves became a fad. It served as his computer workshop, carpentry shop, library, housed his farm memorabilia, a place to ponder life’s questions and whatever else he decided to collect or became interested in. 

Survivors include his wife, Patricia; four children, Stephanie (Jim Revering), and Stella, Thatcher, and Sullivan Brown; Shayne (Tammy), Royce (Madi), Estelle (Casey), Soren; Mandy (Jeff Hughes), Kilean, Taegan (Zach Stone), and Gareth and Rowan James; Dustin (Allison), Laila, Maizie, Hudson, Broderick; two great-grandchildren, Winifred and Charles, and one due in December; nieces and nephews Sarah Opp, Marla Stack, Steven Stack and Tara Adkisson and numerous other relatives and friends. 

He was preceded in death by his parents, Karl and Ardith; sisters, Karla Puttman and Karen Stack; his mother- and father-in-law, James Herchell and Dorothy (Cross) Mileham; and his grandparents.