Joseph W. Demeter

Joseph William Demeter, 75, of Mt. Pleasant, died, Tuesday, Jan. 8, at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City.

Visitation will begin at 2 p.m. Friday, Jan. 11, at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, where a Knights of Columbus Rosary will be recited at 4 p.m. The family will receive friends following the rosary. A Christian vigil will be held at 7 p.m. A funeral mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 12, at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church. Burial will be at St. Alphonsus Cemetery.

Memorials have been established for St. Alphonsus Catholic Church and Hospice of Central Iowa. Olson-Powell Memorial Chapel of Mt. Pleasant is in charge of arrangements; online condolences may be sent to www.olsonpowell.com.

He was born March 16, 1932 in Footedale, Pa., the son of John and Mary Lesondak Demeter. On Nov. 29, 1958, he married Theresa Ann Holtz in Manchester.

A graduate of German Township High School, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and served in Lakenheath, England. He attended Indiana Technical College in Fort Wayne, Ind., receiving a B.S. degree in Civil Engineering. He worked for the Iowa Department of Transportation, and served as Resident Construction Engineer in Columbus Junction, Council Bluffs, Fairfield and Mt. Pleasant before retiring.

He was ordained as a Permanent Deacon for the Davenport Diocese, and served at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church in Mt. Pleasant. He also volunteered for RSVP providing transportation for patients and for the AARP preparing taxes for the elderly. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus and was a past Grand Knight.

He is survived by his wife; two sons, Joseph Demeter II and his wife Julia of Oakland, Calif. and John Demeter of Crawfordsville, Ind; five daughters, Cyndi Hammes and her husband Bill of Wilton, Elaine Demeter of Nashville, Tenn., Christine Davis and her husband Kirk of Gilbert, Ariz., Michelle Demeter of New London, and Helen Bailey and her husband Matt of New London; two sisters, Elizabeth Hrezo of New Salem, Pa. and Mary Louise Eddins of West Palm Beach, Fla.; one brother, Andrew Demeter and his wife Marge of McClellandtown, Pa.; and 15 grandchildren.

His parents, brothers Michael, John and Edward Demeter and an infant grandson preceded him in death.