John S. Breeden, 63, of Grinnell, died Friday, Jan. 9, 2015, at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines. Funeral services were held Jan. 13 at Grinnell Christian Church with Pastors Rose Blank and Walt Claussen officiating. Interment was in Mt. Pleasant Cemetery northwest of Grinnell.
John Spencer Breeden was born Dec. 7, 1951, in Grinnell to Lee Edward and Ruth Elaine (Raber) Breeden. He was raised in Grinnell and he graduated from Grinnell High School with the Class of 1970. He then enrolled in the auto mechanics program at Marshalltown Community College.
He was united in marriage to Virginia Montgomery on May 1, 1976, at the United Methodist Church in Grinnell. The couple lived on the family farm north of Grinnell and was blessed with two sons. John farmed for several years until his health would not allow. He was also employed at Miraco in Grinnell, where he had worked for 20 years. For the past five years, he had also been employed at Van Wyk Freight Lines in Grinnell. He had worked for the following local businesses: Clark Brink Trucking, Goodyear Tire, and Campbell Implement.
John’s family always came first. He cherished the time spent with his grandchildren. He was an outdoors-man who held a passion for farming. He was also mechanically inclined and enjoyed working on race cars. The family recalled the great times they had while vacationing in St. Louis, going to Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, and the road trips to visit family in Tennessee.
John is survived by his wife of 38 years, Virginia “Gin” Breeden of Grinnell; two sons: Marty (Rachel) Breeden of Lynnville and Joey (Jamie Glass) Breeden of Grinnell; eight grandchildren: Evan Breeden of Grinnell, Owen Bryan of Grinnell, Taylynn Breeden of Deep River, Shyanne Breeden of Grinnell, Haley Breeden of Lynnville, Ty Breeden of Lynnville, Austin Roshek of Grinnell, and Taegan Glass of Grinnell; siblings, Christine Carnes of Grinnell, Jim (Cheryl) Breeden of North Platte, NE, Sandi Bergmann of Grinnell, Jeff (Deb) Breeden of Kellogg, Bev Duncan of Grinnell, Kevin (Lori) Breeden of Grinnell, Ed (Mary Ann) Breeden of Woodbury, TN, and Jill Breeden of Austin, TX; and many nieces and nephews.
John was preceded in death by his parents; father and mother-in-law, Keith and Betty Montgomery; brothers-in-law, Jim Duncan and Paul Bergmann; and sister-in-law, Debbie Breeden.
