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Funeral services for Ole Verner Hallquist, 86, of Aurelia will be 10:30 A.M. Saturday, September 5, 2015, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Alta, with Pastor Jane Johnston officiating. Interment will be in Pleasant Hill Cemetery, rural Aurelia. Visitation will be Friday from 2:00 P.M. until 6 P.M., with the family present from 4:00 to 6:00, at the Redig Funeral Home in Aurelia.

Ole went to be with the Lord on September 2, 2015, at UnityPoint St. Luke’s Hospital in Sioux City, Iowa. Prior to his hospitalization Ole resided at the Sunset Knoll Retirement and Rehab Center in Aurelia.

Ole was born on May 7, 1929, in Odeshog, Sweden to Axel Frithiof and Ebba Marie (Johnson) Hellqvist. He was educated in the Swedish school system.

At the age of 18, Ole left Sweden for the rich, abundant fields of Iowa and his Uncle Dave Johnson’s farm north of Alta. He worked for several farmers in the community. On February 2, 1951, he was called to military duty and served at an army base in Atlanta, Georgia, for two years. He was honorably discharged on February 1, 1953. Ole obtained his American citizenship at a ceremony in the Cherokee courthouse in l956.

When in Atlanta he met a beautiful nurse and the love of his life, Anita Guice. They were married on February 14, l953, in Atlanta, Georgia. Ole and Anita had two children, Allan and his wife Carol Hallquist of Kansas City, Missouri, and Todd and his wife Teresa Hallquist of Ecuador, and five grandchildren, Adam Hallquist of San Francisco, California, Devin Hallquist of Kansas City, Missouri, Matthew Hallquist of Camdenton, Missouri, and Jacob and Benjamin Hallquist of Ecuador.

After marrying, Ole and Anita moved to a farm south of Aurelia, Iowa, where Ole farmed for over 45 years. He was a masterful farmer with the straightest, weed-free rows in the state! Ole was a man of few words and many talents. He could fix anything and when he couldn’t, he’d create a part. He loved to work on antique tractors and play his accordion. His rendition of “You Are My Sunshine” was a family favorite.

Ole treasured his wife. His eyes would twinkle when he listened to her tales of her childhood, and he enjoyed her wonderful Southern cooking. He adored his five grandchildren and loved to spoil them. Trips to the farm meant going to get donuts from

Casey’s in the morning with Grandpa, and afternoons spent driving the go-cart he’d made for his sons decades earlier.

Ole’s pride and joy were his sons, Allan and Todd. He was a loving father who set an example of hard work, honesty and integrity. He followed their successes in sports and in business with tremendous pride. Ole often declared that he was a man of great fortune when he spent time with his sons and their families.

Ole was a faithful member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Alta, and he was a member of the Grashoff-McManus American Legion Post #390 of Aurelia for 63 years. Ole is survived by one brother, Sven Hellqvist, and several nephews, nieces, and cousins, all of whom live in Sweden.

Ole was preceded in death by his parents, one brother, Sten Hellqvist, and two sisters, Inga Salomonson and Dagny Rosendahl.