Kenneth Gard

Kenneth Gard, 74, of Sioux City, died Monday, April 25, 2016, at Touchstone Living Center in Sioux City.
Services will be 11 a.m. Friday at Morningside Lutheran Church. Burial will be in Memorial Park Cemetery. Visitation will be 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday, with a prayer service at 7 p.m., at Christy-Smith Morningside Chapel. Condolences may be made at www.christysmith.com .
Ken was born Nov. 10, 1941, in Sioux City, to Lowell and Frances (Gasink) Gard. He grew up on the family farm, attended school in Lawton, Iowa, and graduated from Lawton High School.
His interest in farming started as a child, when he helped his dad milk cows and raise livestock and crops. After high school, Ken attended Iowa State University. His love of farming brought him home to farm.
He married Julie Petersen on March 11, 1961, at Morningside Lutheran Church in Sioux City. They had four children, Michelle, Timothy, Jerald and David.
Ken was an active 4-H member, a 4-H leader and Woodbury County 4-H hog program superintendent. He was past president of Woodbury County Farm Bureau, the Hinton (Iowa) Co-op Board of Directors and the Woodbury County Pork Producers. He was a board member of the Iowa State Pork Producers, and was appointed to the delegate body of the National Pork Producers. He was a past member of the Community Action Agency Board, the Woodbury County Planning and Zoning Commission and the Woodbury County Board of Adjustment. He served as a Concord Township trustee. He was elected to the Soil and Water Conservation Council and was district director for Conservation Services of Iowa. He received the Governor's Environmental Leader Award from Gov. Terry Branstad. He was a longtime member of Morningside Lutheran Church and enjoyed serving as an usher for many years.
Ken loved spending time with his family, especially his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Survivors include his wife, Julie of Sioux City; daughter, Michelle (Mike) Weidner of Waterloo, Iowa; three sons, Timothy (Cindy) of Sioux City, Jerald (Deanna) of Algonquin, Ill., and David (Patricia) of Huxley, Iowa; his mother, Frances Gard of Sioux City; 14 grandchildren, Tammy and Jacob Grady, Tina and David Hanson, Brandi and Greg Howell, Megan and Ben Wills, Andrew Weidner, Lucas Weidner, Ian, Ayana and Olivia Gard, and Kiefer Koster; seven great-grandchildren, Joseph and Isaac Grady, Donavan, Silas and Amelia Hanson, and Stacie and Jackson Howell; two brothers, Roger (Carol) Gard of Danville, Iowa, and John (Aylene) Gard of Columbia, Md.; two sisters, Crystal Kurtze of Omaha, Neb., and Candi (Bob) Smith of Mesa, Ariz.; several nieces and nephews; and longtime employee and friend, Marlin Bennett of Sioux City.