Darrell Foss

DARRELL W. FOSS Darrell W. Foss, son of Rolla W. and Elizabeth Seward Foss, was born July 22, 1917 in Salem, Iowa. Jesus called and Darrell answered on Friday, May 4, 2007 in Lake Regional Hospital, Osage Beach, Missouri at the age of eighty-nine years, nine months and twelve days. On November 25, 1944, he was united in marriage to Mabel M. Mechler in a military wedding at Hondo Air Force Base in Hondo, Texas. She survives him of the home in Camdenton, Missouri. Other survivors include a son, Thomas Wayne Foss and wife Sarah of Snellville, Georgia; a daughter Judy Ann Foss Zickefoose and husband Mark A. of Camdenton, Missouri; a sister-in-law, Thelma R. Foss of Salem, Iowa; six grandchildren, Chad E. Zickefoose, Marci Jo Carter, Diann Eakin, Vicki Bowers, Nicholas Foss and A.J. Foss; eleven great-grandchildren, Jeremy, Justin and Jordan Gayle Zickefoose, Kelsie, Brett, Brock and Kyle Carter and Emily, Ethan, Elisa and Erin Eakin and a host of other relatives, many friends and a large family of Iowa-Illinois Telephone Company, Contel Telephone Company and General Telephone Company employees. He enlisted in the Regular Army, so he could be in the United States Army Air Corps, later to become the U.S. Air Force. He proudly served his country during World War II for four and one half years. He spent much of his time in the Air Forces School, in the Air Force Aircraft and Installation Inspection Department and later as a Flight Engineer for the B-29. Darrell was part owner of the R.W. Foss Electric Light and Power Company until it was sold in 1958 to Union Electric Company of St. Louis, Missouri. At that time he went to work in the Engineering Department of the Iowa-Illinois Telephone Company. Later when it was sold, he continued on with the new owner Continental Telephone System of Atlanta, Georgia until his retirement in1981 as a Distribution and Facility Engineer. He has spent fifty-one years in the Electric Power and Communications business except for the time spent in World War II. In 1990, he was declared a "Life Member" by the Board of Directors of the Independent Telephone Association, Inc. in Washington, D.C. While living in Southeast Iowa, he was on City Council, Volunteer Fireman, President of the Library, Trustee of a Cemetery, member of the Henry County Board of Education, Trustee of the Henry County Hospital, Commander of the local American Legion Post, Commander of the Henry County American Legion Post, a State Vice Commander of the American Legion, an appointed officer of the American Legion National Headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana and was Chairman of the Soldier's Relief. In his retirement, he began a career in funeral service. In July of 1988 at the age of seventy-one, he took the Missouri Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors examination. He successfully passed and was eligible to begin practice as a Funeral Director on August 9, 1988. He worked for Dean and Kathleen Allee at Allee-Reed Funeral Home in Camdenton and continued his employment with Allee-Holman-Howe Funeral Home. He had accepted the Lord as his Savior and loved doing church work. He had served as Chairman of the Deacons and for several years taught an Adult Sunday School class and later a Men's class. He was an officer in the Burlington, Iowa Gideon's International Camp. He and his wife were attending the Lake Area Evangelical Free Church at the time of his passing. Darrell was a loving husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother and uncle. He was a caring and helpful neighbor and friend. We celebrate his life and his many accomplishments and we will treasure the many memories he created for his family and friends. Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, May 9, 2007 in Allee-Holman-Howe Funeral Home with Reverend Gary Golston officiating. Burial with military honors will be in Allee Memorial Garden. Visitation will be from 6-8 p.m., Tuesday in the funeral home. Memorial donations may be made to the Lake Area Evangelical Free Church or the Gideon's International and may be left at the funeral home. Arrangements are under the direction of Allee-Holman-Howe Funeral Home of Camdenton.