Russell Jay Sweet

Russell (Rusty) Jay Sweet, 53, of Sioux City died Thursday, January 12, 2023, as a result of a vehicle accident. A memorial service will be 10:30 am Friday, January 20, 2023 at Wesley United Methodist Church, 3700 Indian Hills Drive. Visitation will be 9:30 am Friday, January 20, 2023 at the church. Russell was born on June 24, 1969, in Sioux City, Iowa, to Eldon and Jacquelyn Sweet. Russ went to Sgt. Bluff-Luton from kindergarten through high school, graduating in 1988. He grew up on an acreage between Sgt. Bluff and the Southern Hills Mall. Russ raised sheep as a 4-H project, participated in band, wrestling and ran track. One of his proudest achievements in high school was setting a school record in the 4 x 200-meter relay, which stood for 27 years. He attended church at Grace United Methodist Church. With his church, he played basketball in his youth and softball later as an adult. Rusty joined the 185th, Iowa Air National Guard in December of his senior year of high school and later joined the Naval Reserve. Rusty also went to Western Iowa Tech to study Architecture. He married Kris Recker, they had a son named Grant, and later divorced. For several years, Russ worked with Chem-Dry of Siouxland, which was a family business. He worked as a delivery driver for Pepsi and later Coke. For many years, he drove a box truck for the US Postal Service delivering bulk mail to smaller community post offices. Most recently, he drove a cab so that he could avoid the extensive lifting and enjoyed meeting people. Russ is survived by his father, Eldon Sweet of Sioux City, his mother Jacque Brentlinger of Apache Junction, AZ, his brother, Curtis Sweet of Edmond, OK and son Grant of Paulina, IA.