After a life of love and quiet grace, Joe Kleeman, 64, has passed.
What follows is written with love, by those who knew him best.
The story begins in 1954, with the arrival of a life that would be cherished by many.
Joe spent his working life as ['sales took them many places in the early years of their marriage'] and held deeply to the Lutheran faith — and was, by all accounts, loved by those who knew him best.
Some find their compass in faith. Joe was among them.
Joseph Gordon "Joe" Kleeman, 64, of Inwood IA, passed away on Tuesday, July 17th, 2018 at Canton-Inwood Hospital in Canton, S.D. following a sudden heart attack. Funeral services will be at 10:30am Saturday, July 21, 2018 at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Inwood. Visitation with family present will be from 5-7pm Friday evening at the church with a Time of Reflections at 7:00pm. Joe was born June 13th, 1954 at Aberdeen, South Dakota the son of Gordon and Opal (Kjosa, Gebur) Kleeman. He was the 2nd of 8 children in the family fondly known as the "Kleeman/Gebur Clan". After graduating from Webster High School in 1972, Joe attended college at National College of Business in Rapid City, S.D., where he met his lifelong love, Debbie Larsen. The couple married on June 19th, 1976 at Brandon Lutheran Church in Brandon, S.D. Married for 42 years, Joe & Deb raised their 3 children, Jennifer, Matthew, and Andrew. Joe's career in sales took them many places in the early years of their marriage, making their homes in Yankton and Sioux Falls, S.D., Fargo, N.D., and Lincoln, NE, where Joe became a devout fan of the Nebraska Cornhuskers (GO BIG RED!). Joe & Deb settled their family in Inwood, IA in 1989, where they have resided for the past 29 years. He enjoyed simple things in life like reading political biographies and anything on American History. He had a knack for completing the daily newspaper crossword puzzles in record time while enjoying his morning coffee. Joe's greatest joy, however, came from his family, as he demonstrated his love through his presence at every sporting event, music program, family gathering, or anything else that his kids or grandkids were involved in. He had a dream in life of someday owning a bar and grill, where he could live his simple joys of serving and interacting with good people. While that dream never came to fruition, some of his family's fondest memories are the hundreds of times we found the best local small town restaurant following the sporting event we had attended that day to enjoy time of great food and fellowship together.Grateful for having shared his life are his wife, Deb of Inwood, IA; his daughter, Jennifer (Jeremy) Thiessen of Larchwood, IA; sons Matt (Dianna) Kleeman of Joshua, TX; and Andy (Keisha) Kleeman of Nevada, IA; six grandchildren, Chase, Paige and Blaire Thiessen, Miles Kleeman, and Micah and Elliett Kleeman; sister, Betsy (Kal) Simons; brother, Paul Kleeman; sister, Julie (Jim) Kleeman-Love; brother, Tim (Beccy) Gebur; sister, Patty (Ethan) Bauer; brother Tom (Susan) Gebur; and sister, Cyndi (Ron) Rineck; sisters-in-law, Lisa (Charlie) Larsen, Kristi (Joe) Lloyd, and Lisa (Chris) Thomas; brother-in-law, Dave Larsen; father and mother in-law, Gene and Bettie Larsen; as well as many special nieces and nephews.He was preceded in death by his parents, Gordon Kleeman and Opal and Leo Gebur; and his brother-in-law Charlie Larsen.
