Stanley N. Hauser

Stanley N. Hauser, a retired seed corn company executive, a devoted husband and father, and longtime resident of Marengo, died May 5, 2020, at Rose Haven Nursing Home. He was 87 years old. His death was peaceful.

Military Honors will be held at 12:00 P.M. Saturday, November 6, 2021 at the Veterans Memorial Rock, at Gateway Park, Marengo Military honors will be conducted by the Marengo Legion # and the U.S. Army Honor Guard. Kloster Funeral Home, Marengo is assisting the family with arrangements.

Born on December 20, 1932, to Esther (Oakland) and Paul Hauser near Doon, Iowa, he was the fourth of seven siblings. As a child of the Great Depression growing up on a family farm, he developed a self-reliant and can-do spirit that allowed him to achieve a lot with limited resources—he often joked that he was recycling long before the rest of the world caught on. His roles in life were wide-ranging: spouse, parent, grandparent, great-grandparent, scientist, manager, woodworker, electrician, coach, community and civic leader, hunter, golfer, card player, dog trainer, member of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, gardener, family driver, designated dish washer, and talented handyman.

After graduating from high school in Inwood, Iowa, he was drafted into the US Army and served for 22 months, most of it with the 623rd Field Artillery Battalion near the DMZ in South Korea, and mustered out as a sergeant in 1955. Using his GI Bill benefits, he enrolled at South Dakota State University and ultimately graduated with a degree in agronomy from Iowa State University in 1960.

He married Kathleen Hellwig in 1958, and the couple had six children: Paul, Sheila, Jeff, Scott, Karen, and David. In 1965, Stan began a three-decade career with Pioneer Hi-Bred, Int’l, Inc., signing on as a field agronomist and eventually becoming an executive at the company’s headquarters in Johnston, Iowa. For most of his career, he managed the Pioneer production plant in Marengo, where he regularly earned recognition for meeting production and management goals. He retired from Pioneer in 1995.

Stan was an avid woodworker, and he regularly made pieces for members of his family to mark the births of grandchildren, anniversaries, graduations, and other milestones. A man who liked to be busy, he was often tending his garden and lawn, hunting pheasants and quail, or golfing at the Marengo Golf Club, where he rarely missed a “holy Tuesday.”

He enjoyed being in good company, particularly if there was dessert involved. Whether at the kitchen table, playing bridge, sitting next to you in an airplane, catching up with friends, or listening to the stories of his children and grandchildren, Stan was always up for a game or a conversation. He became a resident of Rose Haven in March 2019.

He is survived by his wife, Kathleen, and his children, Paul and Anita Hauser of Rochester, New York; Sheila and David Sherman of Marengo; Jeff and Gayle Hauser of Clawson, Michigan; Scott and Mindy Hauser of Rochester, New York; Karen Hauser Richards of Grinnell; and David and Debbie Hauser of Ankeny. He also leaves 16 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren and three of his siblings, Ruth Hauser Serck and her husband, Ronald, of Rock Valley; Kenneth Hauser and his wife, Dorcas, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina; and Carol Hauser Williams and her husband, Billy, of East Bend, North Carolina.

He was preceded in death by three of his siblings, Anna Marie Hauser Gardner of Minneapolis; Ralph Hauser of Rock Valley; and Edward Hauser of Rock Valley; and a sister-in-law, Sharon Hellwig Leinen of Yankton, SD.

A memorial fund has been established in Stanley’s name.

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