Larry William Koestner, age 77, of Ogden, Iowa passed away on Thursday, October 29, 2020. A funeral service will be held at Heartland Baptist Church in Ames on Thursday, November 5, 2020 at 1 p.m. A visitation will be held an hour before the service at 12 p.m. Burial will take place at Rose Hill Cemetery in Boone, Iowa.
Larry was born November 6, 1942 to James and Jean (Stahl) Koestner in Webster City, Iowa. He graduated from Webster City High School and then went on to attend Iowa Central Community College. He enlisted in the U.S. Army National Guard where he served six years. For a short time, he worked for Ames Redi-Mix before starting his career with the railroad; after 33 years he retired from the Union Pacific Railroad, formally known as Chicago Northwestern. Larry was also a longtime member of Heartland Baptist Church.
When the girls were young, Larry loved to take the family on trips. He liked to visit national parks, and his favorite place was to go fishing in Branson, Missouri. He was a supporter of FFA and 4H, especially when his girls and grandkids were involved. He very much enjoyed vegetable gardening and canning, liked to hunt and send his daughter to be the "bird dog", but he loved to fish the most. Later in life he took a liking to flowers and tended to the flower beds in the yard. His hobbies included antiquing and refinishing furniture and he never missed out on a change to cheer on the Cyclones. His favorite snack was home canned peaches and Peanut Butter sandwiches. Larry was passionate about his family and loved nothing more than spending time with them. Larry had placed his faith in Jesus Christ and knew that when he passed from this earthly life he would be in the presence of the Lord. His greatest desire in life was to know that his family and friends knew this truth for themselves as well.
Larry is survived by his wife Joyce (Ford) Koestner, of 56 years; daughters, Tina (David) Dicks and Kendra (Jeremy) Harris; grandchildren, Jacob (Randyl Lynn) Dicks, Caleb Dicks, Allison Dicks, Madison Dicks, and Thomas Harris, Kelly Harris, and Jonathan Harris; siblings, Patricia (Don) Nauman and David Koestner; 13 nieces and nephews, and many great nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and daughter, Tammy.
