Obituary of Ed Mulder

Services will be 10 am Wednesday, July 15, 2015, at First Presbyterian Church in Spirit Lake. Interment will be at Lakeview Gardens Cemetery in Spirit Lake. Visitation will begin Tuesday, July 14, 2015 at 4 pm with the family present from 5-7 pm at First Presbyterian Church in Spirit Lake. Edwin Jacob Mulder was born June 19, 1933, near Carnes, Iowa, the son of Cornie and Fannie (Tromp) Mulder. He was first educated in a country school near Carnes before graduating from LeMars High School. He then attended, and graduated from, Iowa State University. Ed enlisted in the US Army on March 24, 1954, serving during the Korean Conflict until he received his Honorable Discharge on December 23, 1955. Ed was united in marriage to Wanda Muilenburg in 1954 and were blessed with four children, Luann, Tom, Jerry and Bill. They made their home in State Center, Spencer and Des Moines, Iowa, as well as Hutchinson, Kansas and Plainview, Texas. In 1991, the couple moved to Spirit Lake, celebrating fifty-one years of marriage until her death in 2005. Ed joined Deloris Tonsfeldt in marriage in 2009, and continued to reside in Spirit Lake. Ed was a member of First Presbyterian Church in Spirit Lake. He was also a member of Civitan International, serving as the Governor of the Oklahoma-Kansas District, when he was in Kansas. Ed began his career teaching vocational agriculture at State Center and then Spencer, Iowa. He then joined Pioneer Hi-Bred International, working in upper management for the next twenty-eight years. In retirement, he enjoyed repairing, restoring and refinishing old furniture. He equally enjoyed a good sense of humor and a positive outlook on life. Ed died Friday, July 10, 2015 at Lakes Regional Healthcare in Spirit Lake at eighty-two years of age. He is survived by his wife, Deloris, of Spirit Lake; children, Luann Sawyer (Mike) of Halstead, Kansas, Tom Mulder (Jamie) of Olathe, Kansas, Jerry Mulder (Phyllis) of Sioux City, Iowa and Bill Mulder (Sydney) of Virginia Beach, Virginia; eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Also surviving are step-children, Jim Tonsfeldt (Robbi), Lisa Tonsfeldt (Donna), Annie Hoffmeister (Hans) and John Tonsfeldt; nine step-grandchildren; siblings, Bill Mulder (Imo), Florence Bloemendaal and Rose DeJager; several nieces, nephews and friends. He was preceded in death by his wife, Wanda in 2005, siblings, Pete, Bun, Bob, Martha and Marjorie, four brothers-in-law and a grandson, Jackson Mulder.