Delmar F. Beckler

MOUNT PLEASANT ? Delmar Floyd Beckler, 83, of the Noble community, died Sunday, May 1, 2016, at his home.

A funeral service will begin at 10:30 a.m., Friday, May 6, at the Bethel Mennonite Church in Wayland with the Rev. Curt Kuhns officiating. Burial will be in Bethel Cemetery. A visitation will be held from 4 to 8 p.m., Thursday at the church, where the family will receive friends. Memorials may be directed to the family to be determined at a later date. Olson-Powell Memorial Chapel in Mount Pleasant is in charge of the arrangements.

Mr. Beckler was born May 25, 1932, in Flagler, Colorado, the son of Ira and Marian (Boshart) Beckler. He married Mildred Unternahrer on Sept. 21, 1952, at Sugar Creek Mennonite Church.

He moved with his family to Lebanon, Oregon, when he was 5 years old. He attended Berlin Country School near Lebanon. From 1953 to 1954 he fulfilled a 1W Service with the Mount Pleasant Mental Health Institute. At the age of 16, he began driving a truck. He was co-owner with his father of a sale barn in Lebanon, Oregon, where he was a cattle buyer and auctioneer. He later was a sawmill foreman and log truck driver in Sweet Home, Oregon. In 1967 the family moved to Wayland, where he was a feed salesman for English River Pellets in Kalona. He later was a foreman at Perfex Modine in Washington, Iowa. He retired as an independent over-the-road truck driver in 2007. After retiring, he assisted with transportation for the Amish community. He and his wife loved to travel and spend time with their family. He enjoyed collecting Oliver tractors. He was a member of Bethel Mennonite Church.

Surviving are his wife, Mildred, of Mount Pleasant; four children, Ardith Frees and husband Tom of Riverside, Sharon Blakley and husband Steve of Wayland, Beverly Elmore of Albia, and Dean Beckler and wife Crystal of Crawfordsville; one special son of the heart, Mark McKinney of Los Angeles, California; nine grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; and one sister, Naomi Roth of Albany, Oregon.

He was preceded in death by his parents; one son, Duane Beckler; one son-in-law, Daniel Elmore; two brothers, Clifford, and Truman Beckler; and two sisters, Opal Hamilton-Rice, and Ardis Byers.