T - U - V

Bruce Tanner - August 11, 1981


Mason City - Funeral services for Bruce D Tanner, who died of an accidental gunshot wound Tuesday will be held at Holy Catholic Family Church, Mason City.  Burial will be in Elmwood Cemetery.

Mr Tanner was a 1978 graduate pf Mason City High School and attended North Iowa Area Community College.  For the past two summers he had been employed by HC Price Pipeline Co.  He was a member of Holy Family Catholic Church.

Survivors include his mother, Mrs. Lucille Tanner, Mason City; two sisters, Jean Tanner and Rose Tanner, both of Mason City; two brothers James, Mason City, and Donald, stationed with the US Army in Fort Lewis, Washington.

(from the Funeral bulletin: Pallbearers were Doug Lumm, Mike Bailey, Andy Stewart, Gary Marshall, Joel LaChance, and Steve Schlosser.)


Jack Taylor  February 24, 2024

Jack Taylor, 63, of Rochester, Minnesota, formerly of Ames, Iowa, passed away on February 24, 2024, surrounded by his loving family.

Jack's unwavering positivity and profound love for his family and friends was an inspiration to all who met him. Jack will be remembered for his kind spirit, generous smile, and common sense approach to life. He loved to laugh.

He is survived by his wife of 35 years, Vicki, and their two children Keaton and Riley. They were his greatest pride and joy.

In keeping with Jack's wishes, the family will gather to celebrate Jack's life at a later date.


Ken Taylor  















Shelly Taylor Doescher
















Linda Terlisner  



Dennis Tevis  
















Kay Thompson Abele
















Sherrie Thompson Ehlers















Lance Thompson

Time flies like the wind.  And I’ll admit to having more than my share of good luck.  After high school, I went off to NIACC and ISU for a BS in Computer Engineering.  I learned to have a little more fun while I studied.  Partied a little, dated a little, studied a lot - all in all, I enjoyed my college days. 

Then it was off to work at IBM in Endicott, NY.  But IBM was only my day job.  I was really trying to break into the world of auto racing with the idea of racing in Europe at some point.  So I drove Formula Fords a bit in Canada and then bought my own Formula Vee which I raced at places like Watkins Glen and Lime Rock Park.  Racing wasn’t exciting enough, so I bought one of the first Honda VF500F Interceptors, a wicked fast motorcycle, for extra entertainment. 

Here’s where the luck comes in.  One rainy evening on the way home from work on the Interceptor, I dropped it.  More like I locked the front wheel and it spat me off.  There I was, sliding on my chest in one lane, the bike shedding sparks as it slid in the next lane, and the car that was trying to miss us on the shoulder.  That guy gets high marks for paying attention.  The result was not even a scratch.  Needless to say, I felt I had just used up all the luck on the planet.  But wait, there’s more.  At Watkins Glen, I managed to lose control of the race car and hit a guardrail head-on at about 85 mph.  I was quite happy to walk away from that although I still have the scar where my leg should have been smashed to bits.  There wasn’t enough left of the car to save, so we threw that one away and built a second car which I raced for one more season. 

There was even more luck available as I met and married Debbie.  A bit of bad luck hit us when she was diagnosed with leukemia 6 months after we were married.  Lady Luck smiled again though and after a year of treatment she was turned loose by her doctor.  Treatment for Leukemia is chemotherapy that “goes to 11” if you know what I mean.  It was truly vicious stuff that she went through that year.  She’s been in remission for 30 years.  In 2018, Debbie and I divorced; neither one of us was the same person as 31 years ago and it was time for each of us to move on.   

I gave up racing in 1989.  Formula 1 World Driving Champion just wasn’t in the cards and I was past my sell by date :-).  So, I switched from flying on the ground to flying in the air and learned how to fly.  That was a lot of fun, but a lot of work too.  As time went by, and as security procedures became more invasive, flying stopped being fun.  Not only that, a mistake in an airplane can ruin your whole day.  Golf seemed like a better diversion, where mistakes are measured by the number of golf balls you lose :-) 

I moved the family to Rochester MN in 1992 due to some resource shuffling by IBM and had two bright, beautiful daughters, Danielle (1992) and Michaela (1996).  Danielle is now a nurse at St Mary’s in Rochester, MN, and Michaela is a ballet dancer with Fort Wayne Ballet in Fort Wayne, IN.  I can’t forget the dogs, Teddy and Charlie.  They are Welsh Pembroke Corgi’s.  Corgis are a herding dog and are super smart, independent, stubborn, and fun dogs.  Teddy passed away in 2014.  Charlie is still hanging around. 

I’m still with IBM having managed to dodge a number of “resource actions.”  I’ve been there 35 years now doing everything from engineering to programming to sales.  I’ve started to look into what to do after retirement (which may come sooner rather than later).   I got back into photography when Michaela was learning ballet and started my own little photo business.  I focus on dancers since I spent a lot of time photographing Michaela as she developed her ballet skills.  I work with a couple of the local dance studios to shoot performances and help out the upper level dancers as they need audition photos.  Look me up on Facebook at Lance Thompson Photography or on the web at lancethompsonphotography.zenfolio.com 

40 years in just a few paragraphs… 



Mark Thompson  















Sherrie Thompson
















Barb Thornbury Meeker


After high school I moved to Ankeny, IA and attended DMACC (and later started working there).  I married my husband, Ron (MCHS 1975 graduate) in 1980, and 13 years later we started our family.  Our son, Casey, is 25 years old and our daughter, Kayla, is 23.  Ron and I are very proud that both kids are graduates of North Polk High School, DMACC and Iowa State University.  No grandchildren yet, but we are looking forward to that day.  We bought our acreage west of Elkhart, IA in 1987, and have lived there ever since.  We have always had a mix of animals around; dogs, cats, horses, miniature horses, goats, sheep (FFA project) and at one time, the kids even had pet rats.  Currently we have one dog, three barn cats, a horse, and a miniature horse.  I just received my 30 years of service award from DMACC, and will continue my employment with them until I take early retirement in 2021.  Ron has been with Arnold Motor Supply for over 40 years.  His transfer from Mason City to Ankeny is what brought us to the area.  
We’ve connected with a great circle of friends in the area. We have six families that we camped with as the kids were growing up, and we all refer to each other as “our camping family”.  They have definitely become our extended family, and we still remain close and vacation together.  
We play sand volleyball on an over 50  league at our local bar in Elkhart during the summer.  It’s just a fun pick-up league and more of a social outing with some exercise thrown in.    
Pre-kids I bowled on a women’s league.  The team decided we really didn’t like bowling, we just liked to get together.  So we quit bowling and agreed to meet one night a month.  27 years later, we are still meeting for dinner and drinks.  Our nights have definitely gotten shorter as we age.  We used to stay out until midnight, but now we are always home in time to catch the news.  
I have a lot of great memories of my high school years, and I think it’s best if they aren’t in print!
Barb Meeker
2767 NE 126th Ave.
Elkhart,IA  50073
515-238-4741







Dave Tillou  















Thang Ton  















Mike Torkelson  















Dan Torres  















Beth Trees  




Sue Tripkosh Leutwyler















Becky True Shannon















Bill Tyler  - May 21, 2019

MASON CITY - William Galen Tyler, 60, of Mason City, died Tuesday, May 21, in Mason City. A Celebration of Life will be 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday, June 9, at Georgia Hanford Park in Mason City. Ward-Van Slyke Colonial Chapel, 101 N. 4th St., Clear Lake; 641-357-2193.; ColonialChapels.com.










Tim Tyler - May 29, 2015


A Celebration of Life for Timothy Tyler will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 25, at Open Bible Church, 609 S. Eighth St., Clear Lake.













Diane Vallery Hawbaker

Married to Devon Hawbaker for 32 years.

6 children-5 living.

  • Katelyn died in 1990 after open heart surgery complications at 6 weeks old. 
  • Matt Hansen, married with 3 children 
  • Abby Hansen, married with 3 children (1 step). 
  • Kelsey Hawbaker married with 3 children. 
  • Sasha Hawbaker ( adopted age 16) and had Nickoli) 
  • Nickoli Hawbaker ( adopted) 
  • 9 grandchildren. 22 (step), 11, 9, 5, 4, 2, 1, 1, 5 months. 

I work for Wells Fargo as a Technology Manger and have been there for 23 years in March.

We live in Dallas Center, Iowa where Devon grew up and have been there for 22 years.

Hope you are well!





Julie VanEtten Skea
















David VanOsten  















Don VanWey  















Beth VanZomeren  
After graduating from MCHS, I attended ISU and got a B.S. in Community & Regional Planning. I then went on to get a Master’s Degree in Management and also pursued paralegal certification. While at ISU I starting using the name Liz since I had a professor who could never remember my name.  He called me “Mademoiselle Liz” so everyone just thought I was Liz. Some of my family still call me Beth and others call me “Auntie Liz”.  We have 10 nieces and nephews.

Ross and I did not have children and will have been married 30 years this December. To celebrate our anniversary, we recently took a Viking River cruise down the Rhine River.  We have no current plans to retire but would like to travel more. We own a condominium in Eagan, Minnesota and try to get to our “urban cabin” when time allows. We love the fact that Hy-Vee has expanded into Minnesota and has a new store near our condo.

My first professional position was as a Regional Planner in Spencer, Iowa.   After a year, I was fortunate to be hired as a City Planner for the City of Minneapolis. I stayed there for 13 years and during that time I married Ross Harris MCHS ’79.  During our time in Minnesota, I served as an Executive Director for a regional planning agency, as a Senior Planner at the Met Council, a Senior Right of Way agent for Xcel Energy, as a Site Acquisition Specialist for FMHC and as Real Estate Investigator for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. I had thought I’d be an architect but ended up working in planning, land development and acquisition.  It’s been a good run.

Ten years ago, we decided to move back to Iowa when Ross accepted a position with an engineering company that had an office in Johnston, Iowa.  We moved here the week that all hell broke loose with the flooding in Iowa—mid-June 2008.  The economy also seemed to tank around that time and I have to reinvent myself career-wise. I went to work in the Emergency Management field helping the state recovery from the extensive flooding.

With the relocation to Iowa we have gained a better quality of life. We’ve been able to get more involved in our local community since we spend a lot less time commuting. I am currently a Board Member of our local historical society and also serve on the city’s Board of Adjustment.  I really enjoy event planning and fundraising. Ross and I have been asked to serve on Johnston’s 50th anniversary planning committee and we’re looking forward to coming up with some great events to mark that occasion in 2019. 

Currently, my job is in transition as my company was acquired by T-Mobile in January. I will become a Project Manager, Development in July for T-Mobile unless another opportunity presents itself in the next month. In my free time I enjoy creative activities like home décor projects, card making, scrapbooking, and sewing. I am an avid Cyclone fan and am looking forward to football this fall and hopefully winning a bowl game! Over the years I seem to have acquired a large collection of Delft, numerous cookbooks, and books about Iowa. I have too many interests and not enough time!


Looking forward to seeing everyone at the reunion this summer.




Jean VerHelst