Kenneth E. Schnell, 87, of Newton died on Saturday, Mar. 24, 2018, in Sun City, AZ. A private burial was held at the Newton Union Cemetery. A celebration of life will be held at a later date.
Kenneth, the son of Edward and Pearl (Hagedorn) Schnell was born July 8, 1930 in Grinnell. Dec. 4, 1955, Ken was united in marriage with Marilyn Jean Wise in Newton. They had three children, James “Jim”, Donna, and Jane.
Ken served his country in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War.
He was a 50-year member of Oak Ridge Grange, Elks Lodge 1270, American Legion Post 111, and Jasper County Farm Bureau, and he was an honorary member of Newton FFA. He received the Newton Jaycee Young Farmer Award and the Lawrence Hammerly Conservation Award.
Ken’s two greatest passions in his life were his family and farming. In his spare time, he collected antique tractors and participated in many antique tractor rides. Ken also liked to travel and especially enjoyed Arizona winters. He was always the happiest when he had a steering wheel in his hand.
Those left to honor Ken’s memory are his wife, Jean; two daughters and sons-in-law, Donna (Greg) McWilliams of Homestead and Jane (Kent) Harms of Cedar Rapids; daughter-in-law, Kim (Scott) DeGraff of Colfax; eight grandchildren, Amy (Jake) Niederhauser, Kyle Schnell, Jon (Monica) McWilliams, Anna (Matt) Burns, Abby (Ryan) Fish, Sarah (Justin) Kaspryk, Katie (Kelly) Harms, and Erin Harms; six great-grandchildren; a brother, Carroll Schnell; a sister, Ellene Renaud; many nieces and nephews; and special friend, Steve Dahlgren.
He was preceded in death by his parents and son, Jim Schnell.
