Gene Kluever

Gene C. Kluever, 89, of Atlantic, Iowa, passed away September 12, 2016, at the Cass County Memorial Hospital in Atlantic.

Gene Charles Kluever was born October 30, 1926, to Fred and Bertha Kluever in Anita, Iowa. His father passed away when Gene was two and a half years old. He grew up in Fontanelle, living with his Uncle Otto and Aunt Ella until he was ten years old. Gene's mother married William Waters in 1934 and they later moved to a farm two and a half miles from Massena. Gene attended and graduated from high school in Massena in 1945. He entered the service in May of 1945 and served in the army for one and a half years. On May 1, 1948, he married Arlene McKee at St. Patrick's Church in Massena. On February 23, 1948, he began working for Northwestern Bell Telephone Company in Des Moines, working there from 1948 until 1951. In April 1951, Gene was transferred to Atlantic, working in outside installation and repair. In 1958, he was transferred to the central office as a tollman until his retirement in February of 1989.

Gene was an active member of SS Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Atlantic. He served as a trustee while the parish center was built and served on the financial and steering committees to form the parish council. Gene was a member of the Knights of Columbus from 1958 until his death. He was an original member of Nishna Hills Golf Course when it opened and was also a member of the Elks. He was also a reserve police officer for several years in the seventies.

In addition to golf, Gene and Arlene enjoyed ballroom dancing, square dancing and country dancing and enjoyed traveling across the country to various square dancing events. Gene and his wife spent nine winters as snow birds in south Texas. Gene enjoyed woodworking making Christmas ornaments, decorative shelves, Christmas sleighs and nativity scenes and beautiful china cupboards for each of his daughters. In his later years he enjoyed reading and playing solitaire on his computer. In 2013, Gene and his daughters took a trip to Vermont, New Hampshire, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.

Gene is survived by his daughters, Connie (Jim) Lenius of Reinbeck, IA, Pat (Emery) Shutters of Reinbeck, IA and Becky Kluever and her dog, Sadie, of Atlantic, IA; five grandchildren, Christi (Jayme) Allen of Waterloo, IA, Carrie (Dave) Linnenbrink of Park View, IA, Lisa Shutters of Atkins, IA, Dr. Jeff (Melanie) Lenius of St. Louis, MO and Jamie (Ben) Showalter of Grundy Center, IA; four great-grandchildren, Lily and Hannah Allen and Jillian and Allison Linnenbrink; sister-in-law, Charlotte Garside of Greenfield, IA; sister-in-law, Carole Waters of Cape Coral, FL; and other family and friends.

Gene was preceded in death by his wife of 64 years, Arlene; his parents, Fred Kluever, Bertha Waters and Bill Waters; and a brother, John Waters.

A prayer service will be held at 4:45 p.m. with visitation to follow from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 14, 2016, at Hockenberry Family Care in Atlantic, Iowa.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 a.m., Thursday, September 15, 2016, at SS Peter & Paul Catholic Church in Atlantic, Iowa, with burial in SS Peter & Paul Catholic Cemetery also in Atlantic.