Dwight LeRoy Haskins

LAWTON, Iowa -- Dwight LeRoy Haskins, 89, a retired mechanic from Lawton died Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2011, in Lawton following a brief illness.

Memorial services will be 11 a.m. Monday at Lawton Community Presbyterian Church, with the Rev. Cindy Rippinger officiating. Graveside services will be 10 a.m. Monday in Banner Township Cemetery. Visitation will be 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday, with the family present 6 to 8 p.m. and a prayer service at 7 p.m., at Morningside Chapel, Christy-Smith Funeral Home in Sioux City.

Dwight was born in Sioux City on March 1, 1921, the son of Joe and Lottie (Law) Haskins. Except while serving in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, he lived in Lawton his entire life. Dwight was proud that he was named after the famed evangelist, Dwight L. Moody, and that the town of Lawton was named for his maternal grandfather, Joseph Law, who donated the land in 1901 on which Lawton was built.

Dwight attended Lawton schools and delivered the Sioux City Journal to 30 customers in Lawton at the price of fifteen cents per week, which netted him about two dollars a week profit. Upon graduation from high school, he began his career as a mechanic working at the Ford auto agency in Lawton. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in October 1942 and served his country. He earned the Good Conduct Medal and was discharged in February 1946. He related to family that he enjoyed being around and working on the various aircraft that he maintained.

Upon his return to Lawton, he resumed his work and was united in marriage to Lola Eyres on June 29, 1947. When the Ford agency moved to Moville, Iowa, he moved with them. In 1956, he joined Metz Baking Company in Sioux City, where he worked as a fleet maintenance mechanic on second shift until he retired in 1981.

He will be long remembered for his generous gift of time to Lawton and her residents, as well as his patience and consistent good humor. It was common for him to deliver meals to shut-ins, transport persons in need to various appointments, grocery shopping or if they needed a ride. He combined that with delivering mail to those unable to make the trip to the Post Office, shopping for the needy and establishing and caring for the flowers and shrubs at the Presbyterian church. He will be remembered for his landscaping prowess, having planted and cared for most of the evergreens at the Banner Cemetery. Friends and relatives recall him polishing his first brand new car, a 1952 Mercury, so often and vigorously that he wore through the paint.

Although he was blind for the last few years of his life, he refused to become depressed and remorseful, but rather fell back on the three things that sustained him through his life -- his hope, his prayers and his faith in God. When visited by family and friends, all were amazed that he maintained his good humor and upbeat personality in spite of his blindness. Asked recently what he was most proud of, his immediate response was "marrying Lola."

Dwight was a lifelong member of Lawton Community Presbyterian Church, where he served as trustee, deacon, Sunday school treasurer and usher. Vacation time for Dwight and Lola often found them at various places in the USA, attending postal conventions, Presbytery meetings and visiting friends and relatives. After his retirement, they traveled to Europe and Australia, as well as numerous bus tours around the United States and Canada.

He is survived by his wife, Lola of Lawton; sisters-in-law, Lori Hayden of Kingman, Ariz., and Phyllis Peterson of Sioux City; brothers-in-law, Robert (Nancy) Eyres of Wichita, Kan., Ronald (Orpha) Eyres of Kechi, Kan., Michael (Sherry) Eyres of Cheyenne, Wyo., and Ken (Joan) Eyres of Lawton; nieces, Linda (John) Ellickson of Central City, Iowa, and Joan (Don) Crippen of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and a foster sister, Barbara Brown of Marengo, Iowa.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his only sibling, Ken Haskins.

In lieu of flowers, a memorial has been established in his name for Lawton Community Presbyterian Church, Char-Mac Assisted Living and Hospice of Siouxland.