- Date Of Birth: November 28, 1922
- Date Of Death: November 4, 2020
- State: Iowa
Lloyd Barhite, 97, of Iowa Falls passed away Thursday November 5, 2020.
Lloyd Hilmer Barhite was born November 28, 1922,
on the family farm south of Alden, Iowa, to Floyd and Martha (Neuenfeldt) Barhite. He attended country school before graduating from Alden High School with the Class of 1940. For about a year after graduation, Lloyd worked at Prichard’s Grocery Store in Alden during the day and took classes at the McClellan Garage at night. It was there that he learned Lockheed Aircraft in Burbank, CA., needed workers to build aircraft for England and the war effort. In September of 1941, Lloyd drove to California where he settled into an apartment and trained for a month before beginning
work at Lockheed’s Vega Plant. The first plane Lloyd helped build was the Hudson Bomber used by the British. After the United States was attacked on
December 7, 1941, Lloyd worked the swing shift, helping to build the Ventura, B-17, and P-38. Those were the days of good music and dancing at the Palladium Ballroom. Frank Sinatra came by the plant to sing a few songs.
In the spring of 1945, following his dad’s stroke, Lloyd was called back to Iowa to help his dad with spring planting. In 1947, he enrolled at Ellsworth Community College and, the next year, transferred to the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls with an interest in chiropractic healthcare.
To Lloyd and Rhoda were born a daughter, Linda Diane (November 29, 1951) and a son, Steven Charles (December 4, 1955). As a family, they enjoyed traveling which doubled as great opportunities to learn history and geography. In February of 1974, Lloyd and Rhoda traveled to Cyprus and Israel. In 1980, they took their children and spouses to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Lloyd was a member of the Iowa Falls Barbershop Chorus and Iowa Farm Bureau. He served as a president of the Iowa Falls Kiwanis Club and until the Club recently disbanded served in various volunteer positions. The privilege of voting was important to Lloyd and he served as a poll worker. In addition to farming, Lloyd and Rhoda operated Graphic Agri Business which printed newsletters for cooperative elevators in northwest Iowa. They soon expanded into printing cookbooks and family genealogies. A favorite genealogy was for an attorney from Honolulu who wrote the story of her family’s life on Molokai.
After Rhoda’s death on May 3, 1992, Lloyd married Dorothy Lange on October 3, 1993, and shared a friendship with her son, Russell, and daughter Diane. Now and then, Lloyd would take a road trip to see his siblings in Colorado, a grandson at Flight School in Oklahoma, and other relatives and friends.
Lloyd knew that he was a child and heir of God the Father because of salvation through the Son Jesus Christ. He lived that faith as a kind, patient, self-controlled, faithful, and selfless man. Lloyd was too humble to say it, but he continued to mentor his children, grandchildren, great- grandchildren, and neighbors until the moment of his death on November 5, 2020.
Lloyd is survived by his wife Dorothy of Iowa Falls; daughter Linda (Paul) Bartlett of Iowa Falls; son Steve (Jo-Ann) Barhite of Iowa Falls; five grandchildren: Jon (Angie) Bartlett, Josh (Alison) Bartlett, Lisette (Brandon) Pieper,
Melissa (Jake) Hower, and Lance (Kelsey) Barhite; sixteen great-grandchildren; and one brother, Kenneth Barhite of Longmont, CO. He was preceded in death by his parents Floyd and Martha Barhite, wife Rhoda, brothers Wayne and Vic, and sister Ruth.
Lloyd was “not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (Romans 1:16). He would remind us all to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ who tells us, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27).
