Cyrus Freidhof
February 24, 1929 ~ November 26, 2012
Cyrus Freidhof, age 83 of Alta Vista, Iowa passed away on Monday, November 26, 2012 at his home with his family by his side. Cyrus Peter Freidhof was born on February 24, 1929 on a farm in Howard County, rural Elma, IA, the son of Ed and Helena (Diederich) Freidhof. He was baptized, confirmed and received First Holy Communion, all at St. Bernard’s Catholic Church in Alta Vista, IA. Cyrus graduated from St. William’s High School in 1947. After graduation, he worked as a farm hand at various locations. In 1950, he farmed with his dad until he was drafted into the US Army in 1953. On November 26, 1952 Cyrus was united in marriage to Jeanne Loes at St. Bernard’s Catholic Church. He was inducted into the Army in May 1953 and received his honorable discharge in 1955. Upon his return home in 1955, the couple purchased a can milk route and hauled milk for three years. It was also in 1955 when Cy helped to organize the Alta Vista Volunteer Fire Department of which he was the first president. In 1958, Cy began his employment with Moorman Mfg. Co. as a salesman until he retired in 1989. The Freidhof’s resided on an 80 acre farm just east of Alta Vista until 2006 when they moved to town. Cy was the first lector at St. Bernard’s in 1967, which he did for 42 years. He loved to play softball, pitching a lot of games, even when he entered the Army. In later years, Cy and Jeanne enjoyed going on bus tours along with golf and fishing. Cy worked for Conway-Markham Funeral Home for 10 years, was a member of Catholic Order of Foresters, a lifelong member of the Knights of Columbus and a 4th degree knight, a member of American Legion, VFW, and St. Bernard’s Catholic Church in Alta Vista. Cy is survived by his wife of 60 years, Jeanne Freidhof of Alta Vista; his son, Myron of Elma, IA; his grandson Cyrus J. Freidhof; step-grandchildren, Johnny Parke and Betsy Moore as well as several step great-grandchildren; two brothers, Adrian (Helen) Freidhof of New Hampton and Robert (Lorraine) Freidhof of Cresco; his sister-in-law, Bernice Freidhof and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; brothers Jerome and Fabian Freidhof; his sisters Gertrude Lentz and Edith Heit; and his daughter-in-law, Janice.
Cemetery:
Burial will be at Mt. Calvary Cemetery in Alta Vista.
Memorials may be directed to the family.
Visitation will be held from 4:00-8:00pm on Thursday, November 29, 2012 at Conway-Markham Funeral Home in Elma with a 4:30pm Rosary and a 7:30pm Scriptural Wake Service. Visitation will continue at the funeral home one hour prior the funeral mass on Friday.
Mass of Christian Burial will be held for Cyrus 10:30am on Friday, November 30, 2012 at St. Bernard’s Catholic Church in Alta Vista with Father Steve Garner celebrating.
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Cyrus ol’ friend. You were a prince, a treasure and a much valued part of my life. I am ‘selfish’ sad because I do not want to come to AV and not be welcomed by your smile, laughter and kindness. I will miss you dearly and know, in that, I am not alone. Say hello to Shorty. Farewell my friend.
Jeanne and Myron — Our sincere sympathy to you at the
loss of Cy. He was a great one and we will miss him. Be
mindful that your memories are your greatest treasure and will sustain you in the days ahead.
Ken,Fran and Brenda
So sorry to hear the passing of Cy. He was such a great person always had a smile for everyone. He will be missed by many.God bless
Dear Jeanne, Myron and all the family. Please know you are all in my thoughts and prayers. What a gift Cy was to all. I will remember him fondly and yes his wonderful smile.
I extend my sympathies to the family of Cyrus. He will always remain in your heart forever; and the way he had lived; he remains in other people’s too. I was a part of the Lourdes area myself; and he was certainly a “leader” for this community and a model for others:)
Take care,
Jeanne and Myron ,my thoughts are with you.Cyrus was a pretty special person and will be missed ,and thought of often.
Jeanne and Myron, So sorry to hear about Cy’s passing. Hold on to all the special memories you hold in your heart.
jeanne and myron, am sorry for our loss av will not
be the same he always had a smile and a smart
remarke to thinking of you in this hard time
brenda
Jeanne and Myron, so sorry to hear of your loss. Know that Cy is at peace now. I have so many memories of Cy and Jeanne out at our place playing cards, throwing lawn jarts, fishing in Lake City or a get together on New Year’s Eve…I too always enjoyed the gum Cy gave, he even had some for us at mom and dad’s anniversary. Cy will truly be missed by all
My prayers are with you during this time of sorrow.
You are admired and loved by all
One of my greatest childhood memories is of my brothers and I begging Uncle Cy for gum….which he always had on him. He had that warm yet mischievous twinkle in his eye that made you wanna be around him.
I guess God is chewing gum right now.
Thank you Cy.
Leslie Mitchell (Dorothy Freidhof’s Daughter)
We hope you all hold on to your good memories. Cy was a great guy and always full of fun. We keep you in our prayers. Duane & Pat Lynch
Whenever I think of Cy, I remember him offering me a piece of square, white, mint flavored gum when we would see him at family gatherings as a young child. A fond memory for me. He’ll be missed.
You have our sincere sympathy for the loss of Cy. He will be sorely missed by family and friends.
i worked with cy at moormans . cy was always a gentleman and a pleasure to work with . he will be missed.
Jeanne & Myron, Was sorry to hear that Cy had passed away. My prayers are with you. Hold on to all the memories.
Our deep sympathy to Jeanne and all of Cy’s family. My memories go back a long way to when I was just a little girl and Cy would drive us to school in my dad’s car. John, of course, remembers him coming out to the farm. In later years we always had the pleasure of chatting with him whenever we happened to come back to AV. If we were out for a walk, he would always take time and stop. Will always remember his great smile & his witty style!
Please know that you are in our thoughts ands prayers. So sorry to here of Cy’s passing. Hold on tho the memories.
Sorry to hear of your loss. He won’t have to suffer anymore. He can be playing cards with Fay.
To the Freidhof family, your all in our thoughts and prayers. So sorry to hear of Cy’s passing!!!! What a shocker….hopefully you can find peace in the days ahead.
Carrie Jacoby, David Zweibohmer and Hayley
We are so sorry to here about Uncle Cy. We didn’t get to see you guys very often but one of my best memories of him was when all of the great aunts and uncles came out to Seattle for our wedding. I remember him sitting on his cooler in our living room drinking his beer. He will be missed.
Cy was a great asset for Alta Vista and Elma .So sorry for your loss.
Myron,
Sorry for the loss of your Dad. Keeping you in our prayers.
My sympathy to Jean and all of Cy’s family. He was a pleasant, friendly person when we visited back home in Alta Vista and Elma area.
Myron,
I didn’t know your dad well. But my Uncle Buddy did, and he very much enjoyed spending some time with him. Can you imagine the fun they and their old pals will have?!
Celebrate his life.
Our thoughts to you and your family.
Bob and Brenda