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Iva May Kracht, 93, of Storm Lake, formerly of rural Peterson, passed away on Friday, Oct. 20, 2023 at Accura Healthcare in Aurelia.
Funeral services will be held on Thursday, Oct. 26, at 11 a.m. at St. John’s Church, rural Peterson. Mr. David Orthmann will officiate. Burial will be in St. John’s Church Cemetery. Visitation with the family present will be on Wednesday, Oct. 25, from 5-7 p.m. at St. John’s Church, rural Peterson. Boothby Funeral Home of Cherokee is assisting the family with arrangements. Online condolences may be left at boothbyfuneral.com.
Iva May was born on Dec. 25, 1929 to Earl and Gertrude (Bancroft) Cole in Cedar Township, Sac County. She graduated from Delaware Township Consolidated School, Nemaha.
She worked for seven years at Security Trust and Savings Bank in Storm Lake. She was married on Sept. 25, 1955 to Herbert Kracht at the Methodist Church in Storm Lake. They farmed on farms south of Peterson for over 40 years. They had three children: James Dean, Rebecca Sue and David Ray.
She always had a large garden and did a lot of freezing and canning. She enjoyed all that was involved in being a farmer’s wife. She sorted seed corn for 25 harvest seasons for PSA, Alta. Herb and Iva May enjoyed going to dances for close to 60 years. She was a member of Rushing Brooke Club, American Legion Auxiliary, Spring Township Homemakers Club and CAB Birthday Club. She was also a member of St. John’s Church; the Women’s Fellowship and held many offices and was on several committees.
While Herb was on the Farm Bureau Board, they traveled to many national annual Farm Bureau meetings in different states. Her favorite was Hawaii. Another special trip they took was to their grandson Kolin’s wedding in the Virgin Islands.
In December 1997, they moved into Peterson. She was a member of the Red Hats and Senior Citizens card club. She also took friends and neighbors to church events or doctor’s appointments.
She moved to Otsego Place Assisted Living in Storm Lake in November 2015, where she enjoyed all the activities and the people.
She is survived by her children: Jim (Sandy) Kracht of Aurelia; Becky (David) Brighton of Marion; and David (Toni) Kracht of Alta; seven grandchildren: Justin (Heather) Kracht of Lake Park; Candi (Lynn) Meyer of Sioux Rapids; Jayden (Becky) Kracht of Webb; Kolin (Nicole) Brighton of Cedar Rapids; Katie (Eric) Legue of Vinton; Sierra Kracht of St. Ansgar; and Isaac Kracht of Aurelia; 12 great-grandchildren: Caleb (Taleah) Kracht, Ashton and Taylor Kracht, Kirstyn and Corbin Kracht, Oliver and Nash Meyer, George, Miles and Nora Brighton, Grace and Wayne Legue; one great-great granddaughter, Brynlee Kracht; sister Ruth Wright of Storm Lake; two sisters in law, Luella Reed of Farmington, Minn. and Jean Saunders of Peterson.
She was preceded in death by her husband of nearly 60 years; her parents; parents in law; granddaughter Carissa Kracht; step-grandson Jamie Peters; brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law: Robert and Bunny Kracht, Edward and Marjorie Murphy, Ralph and Arlene Brown, Calvin and Erma Christensen, Robert and Janet Hoover, Bruce Saunders, James Reed, Ronald Kracht, Norman Drey and Jerry Wright.
