Isaac Classen Jr.

Isaac “Ike” Classen Jr., 90, of Denver, Colorado, went home to his Lord on August 1, 2022. He was the fourth of six children, born to Isaac T. and Margaret Classen on February 26, 1932, in the Mennonite community of rural Meade County, Kansas. Being at the epicenter of the Dust Bowl made farm life harder than ever, and Ike was often sick as a child, but he worked alongside his dad in the fields and learned to speak English, rather than Low German, when he entered first grade and WWII began. Music was a lifelong joy for Ike, and he sang in Meade Bible Academy’s choir, which ranked first in the Dodge City District and first in the state. At 16, he was baptized in a pond near his family’s farm. Ike met his future wife, LaVerna Friesen, when he gave her a ride to go Christmas caroling around their community. They married on August 29, 1952, and honeymooned by car down Route 66 to California, but made their home in Denver when Ike was drafted into the Korean War. A conscientious objector, he participated in alternative service by working at St. Luke's Hospital in Denver. LaVerna worked in the hospital coffee shop and as an orderly until their first child, Galen, was born, followed by LuAnn, Ken, and Gail.

Ike always wanted to return to farming, but when that didn’t turn out, he put the same dedication and hard work instead into his many jobs in Denver. He and his brother Will each earned certificates in refrigeration and air conditioning maintenance, and Ike went to work for Public Service of Colorado, the start of a 32-year career maintaining the headquarter building in downtown Denver. Ike also volunteered his time with the Mennonite Disaster Service and used his trade skills in electricity, construction, and plumbing, on mission trips to Mexico and Guatemala. He bicycled nearly 500 miles with the Wandering Wheels cycling group in Israel in 1984 and cycled another 3,250 miles across America with the group, which included several of his children, from the Pacific Coast to the Atlantic in 1991 at the age of 59. Ike shared his gift of voice in numerous choirs and quartets, and was particularly fond of “Amazing Grace” and “How Great Thou Art.” Even into the last year of his life, Ike continued to use his singing and sense of humor to cheer the staff and residents around him.

Previously departed loved ones include Ike’s wife of 64 years, LaVerna Classen; his parents, Isaac T. and Margaret Classen; and his siblings, Katie Classen, Minnie (Classen) Byrd, Bertha (Classen) Johnson, and Wilmer Classen. Ike is remembered with love by his four children, Galen Classen and his wife, Carol; LuAnn (Classen) Weinacht and her husband, Brian; Ken Classen; Gail (Classen) Loeffler and her husband, Mark; five grandchildren, Vaughn Weinacht and his wife, Bethany; Kiera Classen; Lily (Weinacht) Landreth and her husband, Mac; BriAnna Loeffler and Rudy Loeffler; brother, Ernie Classen and his wife, Martha; sister-in-law, Darlene Classen; and countless more family members and friends.