Dr. John Duane Berthelsen

Dr. John’s memorial service will be 2 p.m., Friday, April 27th at the Wallace Family Funeral Home & Crematory in Newton.

The family will greet friends immediately following the memorial service with a lunch at the funeral home.

A private family burial will be held at the Slagel Cemetery in rural Newton.

In lieu of flowers the family requests memorials to St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church or to the donor’s choice. The memorials may be left at the funeral home. Memorials may also be mailed to the funeral home, please add, Attn: Berthelsen Family on the envelope.

Dr. John Duane Berthelsen, the son of Berle O. and Magdalena Theresa Schroeder Berthelsen was born on April 5, 1931 in Bradish, Nebraska. He graduated from Albion High School in Albion, Nebraska; received his D.V.M. from ISU in 1958 and then his M.D.V.M. from ISU in 1971. Dr. John served his country in the U. S. Army during the Korean War.

On November 27, 1952, Dr. John was united in marriage with Marilyn A. Auten at the Pleasant View United Methodist Church in rural Newton, Iowa. They were blessed with five children, Julie, Mark, Joel, Karen and Philip. Dr. John after receiving his D.V.M. returned to Albion, Nebraska where he worked as a veterinarian for several years. He then worked for Feed Fortifiers in Manson, Iowa from 1976-1980. Dr. John later worked as a Tech Services Vet for GlaxoSmithKline for 11 years, retiring in 1991. Dr. John was a member of the St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church; he had held the office of Board President and Deacon in four churches over their many moves. He was also a member of the Kiwanis, Lions Club International; he was the County Board President of the Red Cross in Nebraska, past President of the American Association of Swine Practitioners, he delivered Meals on Wheels for 20 years, he was a courier for the Iowa Lions Eye Bank and an R.S.V.P. driver taking people to their appointments. Dr. John enjoyed his family, humor, elk hunting, woodworking, mowing their 3-acre yard and gardening. He had lived in Albion, Nebraska from 1931-1969; Ames, Iowa from 1969-1974; Clear Lake from 1974-1976; Manson, Iowa 1976-1985; Kellogg, Iowa from 1985-2014 and Newton, Iowa from 2014-2018.

Dr. John died on Thursday, February 22, 2018 at Park Centre in Newton. He was 86. He was preceded in death by his parents, two sisters, Donna Wiese and Ruth Porter.

Those left to honor Dr. John’s memory are his wife, Marilyn of Newton; children, Julie Berthelsen of Syracuse, New York, Dr. Mark (Terri) Berthelsen of Baker City, Oregon, Joel (Wendy) Berthelsen of Midlothian, Texas, Dr. Karen Koch (Steve) Palm of Des Moines and Philip (Chontel) Berthelsen of Des Moines; his thirteen grandchildren, Clayton Berthelsen, Cristopher Berthelsen, Amara (Jeff) Mattingly, Stefan (Alex) Berthelsen, Philip Berthelsen, Ana Berthelsen, Hannah Koch, Lynn Koch, Marly Koch, Chris (Missy) Palm, Mike (Christa) Palm, Ashlin Berthelsen and Nash Berthelsen; five great-grandchildren, Sydney, Zach, Haley and Hunter Palm and Shiloh Koch; brother-in-law, Rod Porter of Colorado Springs, Colorado; good friend and “comic reliever,” Al Koch; and many nieces, nephews, cousins, many, many friends and colleagues.

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