Delmar Jack Dettmann, age 87, of Sac City, IA, passed away on Easter Sunday, April 5, 2015, at Black Hawk Life Care Center in Lake View, IA. Jack was born on March 30, 1928, to Walter and Luciel (Miller) Dettmann in Coon Valley Township, Sac County, IA. He received the Sacrament of Holy Baptism as a baby in 1928 at Emanuel-St. John Lutheran Church in Lytton. It was there he confessed Christ as his Savior and Lord in the Rite of Confirmation on March 29, 1942, and remained a life-time member.
Jack attended country school and graduated from Lytton High School with the class of 1946. On August 21, 1949, he was united in marriage to Vernie Marie “Murph” Johnson at the Gowrie United Methodist Church. Murph and her sister Darlene had a double wedding ceremony. They were blessed with two children, Rick and Terry.
Jack’s life was family and agriculture. His love of farming started at a young age growing up on a farm and helping his Dad and uncles on the farm. After he was married he farmed in Calhoun and Sac County and for the last 35 years, before retiring in 1995, he farmed Northwest of Sac City. In his younger years he did custom corn shelling, combining and baling. He always enjoyed working with his neighbors and friends or giving them a helping hand no matter what the job was. Jack loved ponies and horses. He showed his six pony hitch at various parades, horse shows, Clay County Fair and the Iowa State Fair. He was inducted into the Iowa Draft Pony Hall of Fame in 2006 at the Iowa State Fair. He enjoyed taking his ponies to Lytton and delivering Santa Claus to town and giving rides to the children for 35 years. He liked going to fairs and farm shows, seeing the new farm equipment, and attending the Albert City Thresherman & Collectors Days, checking out the older tractors and horse drawn equipment.
In later years, after he sold his ponies, he started going on tractor rides throughout Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota and Nebraska. He enjoyed all the different people he met and seeing the farms and tractors. Of course his tractor was a 350 Farmall which he drove in many parades and even to coffee on occasion.
Survivors include his son Rick and wife Marilyn Dettmann of Sac City; daughter Terry and husband Craig Ferguson of Laurens; grandchildren: Brooke Ferguson of South Euclid, Ohio and Chance Ferguson and friend Brittni Sweeney of Laurens; step-grandchildren: Shelley (Don) Rehm and Shannon Kraft both of Sac City; and step great-grandsons: Derrick, Casey and Beau Kraft. Other survivors include his sister, Donna Rae Porter of Fort Dodge; sister-in-law Darlene Eklund of Gowrie; many nieces, nephews, extended family members, friends and neighbors.
Jack was preceded in death by his parents; wife Murph on November 12, 1998; brothers: Rusty Dettmann and Robert and wife Ida Mae Dettmann; brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Laurel and Kathy Johnson; and brothers-in-law: Vern Eklund and Jim Porter.
