Joseph Demar

DYERSVILLE, IOWA Joseph E. DeMar, 63, of Dyersville and formerly of North Liberty, ended his earthly journey Friday, February 2, 2018, from complications of muscular dystrophy at home surrounded by his family. Visitation will be held from 1 - 5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 4, 2018, at Kramer Funeral Home, 750 12th Ave SW in Dyersville where a parish vigil service will be held at 4:30 pm. Visitation will continue Monday from 8:30 – 9:30 am at Kramer Funeral Home prior to funeral services. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. Monday, Feb. 5, 2018, at St. Mark Catholic Church in Edgewood, with a private burial at St. Francis Cemetery in Dyersville. Rev. John Haugen will officiate. Joe was born July 31, 1954, in Iowa City the son of Francis and Norma (Rhoades) DeMar. He graduated from Solon High School and worked in the lumber business until 2010, when muscular dystrophy forced his retirement. Joe always enjoyed a great game of cards, a good round of golf and the thrill of a 300 game in bowling. Left to cherish his memory are his wife, Karon (Ries), whom he married on October 25, 1980, and their sons: Chad DeMar of Dyersville and Travis DeMar of Boston, MA. Family was everything to Joe and he needed nothing more than to be at home with them. Also surviving Joe are his siblings: JoAnne (Earl) Ernst, Judy (Terry) McDougal, Dodie DeMar (Larry Krob), and Kay (Rich) Fulkerson. Others who shared in Joe’s life were his in-laws: Sharon (Bruce) Besler, Gladys (Dennis) Felton, Harold Ries, Lou Ann Hutchinson, Gerald (Betty) Ries, and Jane (Kevin) Linebaugh and many nieces & nephews. Those waiting to greet him are his parents, parents-in-law: Herbert & Alvina (Sabers) Ries, siblings: Kenny, Jeff and Jack in infancy; in-laws: Rodney Hutchinson, Dianna Ries and Ethel Tholander, and a great nephew, Ian Felton. Memorials are preferred to the Muscular Dystrophy Association (www.mda.org)