William "Virgil" Roemerman's Obituary
William Virgil Roemerman, 95, passed away peacefully February 7, 2023, at Highland Ridge senior living community in Williamsburg, Iowa. He was born December 14, 1927, on the family farm in rural Blakesburg, IA to William and Gladys (Black) Roemerman. He grew up helping on the farm. He graduated from Ottumwa High School and Iowa State University with a degree in Agricultural Engineering.
He married the love of his life Verna Townsend in 1951. After Virgil finished college, the couple moved to Eddyville where Virgil taught vocational agriculture. Soon after, they moved to Williamsburg where he also taught and worked with young farmers in the Future Farmers of America organization. Teaching was one of the highlights of his career and the subject of many dinner table conversations. He later accepted a position with Rath Feed, moving his family to Fairfield and then Maquoketa, holding positions as the company's sales manager and later as the plant manager in Maquoketa. Finally, he joined his cousin as a partner in Roemerman Feed and Grain, with elevators in Blakesburg, Albia and Centerville, before retiring in 2004. He always enjoyed dealing with the many customers and characters that came in to the elevator and it was the primary reason he delayed retiring for so many years.
Virgil was active in many community organizations including the Masons, the Lions Club, and Faith United Methodist Church in Centerville. He also traveled and enjoyed a daily round of golf with friends and neighbors.
As a young boy, Virgil always dreamed of flying planes. In the 70s, he earned his pilot's license and spent countless hours flying. Virgil and Verna were blessed with three children, Michael, Jaymie and Martin. In his later years, Virgil also enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren and tried to get them to learn golf (they had more fun riding around on the golf cart). With his farm background and his engineering degree, his family felt he could fix anything and often challenged him to do so while retired.
Virgil was preceded in death by his wife of 71 years: Verna who passed away January 15, 2023. His daughter; Jaymie (John) Paine. His parents, brother Harold Dean Roemerman, and sister Donna Rae (Roemerman) Sylvester.
He is survived by sons Michael (Susan) Roemerman of Mahtowa, Minnesota and Martin (Angela) Roemerman of Iowa City; nine grandchildren David Roemerman, Geoff (Ashley) Roemerman, Krista Roemerman, Chris (Raquel) Paine, Erin (Matthew) Kelley, Meredith Roemerman, Kaitlyn (Adam) Wright, Daniel (Tyler) Roemerman and Anna Roemerman, and 10 great-grandchildren.
The family would like to thank Highland Ridge and the Essence of Life Hospice for their extraordinary care.
A celebration of life will be held for Virgil and Verna Roemerman March 4th from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Highland Ridge Senior Center in Williamsburg, Iowa. All who knew Virgil and Verna are welcome.
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