Joseph William Menary

Williamsburg- Joseph William Menary, age 93, was born August 30, 1929 in Williamsburg, Iowa to William and Helen (Johnson) Menary.   He passed away August 10, 2023 at Highland Ridge Care Center in Williamsburg surrounded by his family.   Joe is survived by his wife of 72 years Eunice of Williamsburg, four children Linda (Rick) Eggleston of Sun City West, AZ, Debra (William) Edmondson of Williamsburg, Carole (Kevin) Venhaus of Des Moines and Richard (Amy) Menary of Phoenix, AZ, 6 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren and his brother Robert Menary of Williamsburg. He was preceded in death by his parents and sister-in-law, Helen Menary. 

Joe was born and raised on the family Century farm which he later farmed and owned with his brother Robert.   Joe and his brother had many Huckleberry Finn-like adventures with their cousins on Old Man’s Creek  while growing up on the farm he loved.   Joe was a veteran and proudly served his country in the 2nd Battalion Fox 2 Company 1st Division US Marine in Korea from 1951 to 1953.   He was later active in the Williamsburg VFW Post 8797, served as commander of the Williamsburg American Legion Post 288 in 2003.  For many years served other veterans by coordinating the distributions of flag memorials at the Williamsburg Oak Hill cemetery, decorating the town square with flags, and participated in many military funeral ceremonies.

As well as farming Joe was a representative for Pioneer Seed Corn for many years.
After retiring he continued to raise a large garden and enjoyed sharing his produce with family and friends.  He often commented that “sweet corn wasn’t any good if it was more than 30 seconds out of the field.”  Joe loved to hunt morels with his good friends Roland Holden, Eldon Yearian and Alan Chipman.  They would often travel as far as Wisconsin in search of those  elusive morsels.

Joe and Eunice belonged to St Paul’s Methodist Church in Williamsburg.  They enjoyed many winters hiking the Superstition Mountains in Arizona.  He also enjoyed following the Williamsburg High School athletic programs as well as the Iowa Hawkeyes, the Cubs and the Bears.

A Celebration Of Life Service will be held 10:30 am Tuesday, August 15, 2023 at St Paul’s United Methodist Church. Burial will be at the Oak Hill Cemetery. Visitation will be held 4:00-7:00 pm Monday, August 14, 2023 at Powell Funeral Home in Williamsburg with a VFW Service at 7:00 pm. In lieu of flowers the family requests memorials be directed to the Iburg Poulson VFW Post #8797 or the St. Paul United Methodist Church. Messages and Tributes may be left at www.powellfuneralhome.com 

The family would also like to thank the staff of Highland Ridge and Essence of Life Hospice for their support and care during Joe’s final days.