Dallas ‘Pete’ VanKirk of Perry

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Dallas "Pete" VanKirk of Perry will be honored by the Perry Historic Preservation Commission and Hometown Heritage as the 2018 honoree on the Soumas Court Wall of Witnesses in a ceremony scheduled for Monday, Sept. 24 at 5 p.m. in Soumas Court in downtown Perry.

Dallas “Pete” VanKirk, 77, of Perry passed away Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016, at the Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines.

Funeral services will be held Monday, Aug. 22 at 10:30 a.m. at the Mount Olivet Lutheran Church in Perry. Visitation will be Sunday, Aug. 21 from 1-7 p.m., with family present from 4-7 p.m. at the Carris Family Funeral Home in Perry. Burial will be in the Mowrer Cemetery near Perry at a later date.

Dallas “Pete” Wayne VanKirk was born on July 15, 1939 at Salem, Ore., to Fred Dallas and Irene Elizabeth (Yunker) VanKirk.

He attended high school at Moville, Iowa, then continued his education at Wayne State in Wayne, Neb., and Yankton College in Yankton, S.D.

He was married to Donna Zellmer June 22, 1958. To this union were born three children, Kirk, DeLynn and Darek.

He began work as a core maker in Decatur, Ill., in 1963.

He moved to Perry in 1965 to work as plant manager at Progressive Foundry. In 1980 Pete purchased the Progressive Foundry, working and owning it since then.

He was united in marriage to Joyce Ann Conklin in Perry Dec. 31, 1995.

Pete was a member of the Mount Olivet Lutheran Church in Perry.

He enjoyed being a volunteer for Perry Little League, being a coach for the Perry High School football team and caring for his pets.

Pete was a man that loved his family and would attend his children and grandchildren’s activities. He also cared about the plant employees and liked driving his golf cart daily through the Progressive Foundry, visiting with them.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Fred and Irene VanKirk and a brother, Daryl DeFord.

Pete is survived by his wife, Joyce VanKirk of Perry; children, Kirk (Lori) VanKirk of Perry, DeLynn (David) Stein of Barnum, Iowa, and Darek (Carol) VanKirk of Perry; step-children, David Repp, Janelle Repp and Doug (Tracey) Repp; grandchildren, Nathan (Shiela) Stein, Jonathan Stein, Katelyn Stein, Megan Stein, Christin VanKirk, Jackson VanKirk, Kade VanKirk, Justin Jay Torres, Marshall Repp and Molly Repp; great-grandchildren, Miriam Stein, Edith Stein and James Stein; siblings, Skip (Judy) DeFord of Corvallis, Ore., and Lyle DeFord of Corvallis, Ore., and a sister-in-law, Bonnie DeFord Sprenger of Albany, Ore.

In lieu of flowers, Pete’s family asks that memorials be given in his memory to the Perry High School Foundation and may be left at the Carris Family Funeral Home. Online condolences may be sent at www.carrisfuneralhome.com.

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