Carl F. Hertz

AMES - Carl F. Hertz, 92, of Ames passed away on Wednesday (June 15, 2005) at his home, the Green Hills Retirement Community, in Ames.

A memorial service will be held on Wednesday (July 6, 2005) at 10:30 a.m. at Collegiate United Methodist Church, 2622 W. Lincoln Way, Ames.

Visitation will be on Tuesday (July 5, 2005) from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Chet Ryan Mortuary, 708 Fifth St., Nevada, Iowa.

Carl F. Hertz, son of Martin and Ella Boyer Hertz, was born July 1, 1912, at Laurens, Iowa.

He is survived by his wife, Marjory Vaughn Hertz. They met in 4-H in Pocahontas County, Iowa, and were national 4-H demonstration contest champions at the National 4-H Club Congress in Chicago in 1929. They were married in Columbia, Mo., on March 28, 1936.

He attended Iowa State University during the Depression majoring in animal husbandry. He worked in the meat lab for 35 cents an hour, was on the championship national Iowa State University livestock judging team and was a member of Farm House Fraternity, which offers an annual scholarship in his name.

After graduating in 1933, he began his farm management career with Doane Agricultural Service in St. Louis, Mo. His first assignment was in Kirksville, Mo. He was one of the first accredited farm managers (AFM) and accredited rural appraisers (ARA) in the United States. He opened Doane's first farm management and rural appraisal office in Iowa in 1937. During his time with Doane, he was also an assistant editor of the Doane Agricultural Digest. Some of the challenges in his farm management career included convincing farmers to use hybrid seed corn in the 1930s and coordinating the planting of waxy corn for the war effort during World War II.

In 1946, Carl and Marjory decided to farm the family farm southeast of Nevada full time, and Carl would do agricultural consulting on the side. This led to founding his own farm management company when a client asked him to manage several farms. They lived on their Nevada farm for 65 years and enjoyed raising Angus cattle.

Hertz Farm Management has grown over the past 59 years to be one of the largest farm management, real estate and rural appraisal firms in the United States. Conservation was a priority for Carl, and he was a leader in land drainage, no-till, minimum till, terracing and other conservation practices.

Hertz Farm Management has grown to 14 offices managing more than 425,000 acres in nine Midwestern states and Brazil. Carl's success can be attributed to his ability to attract colleagues who were ethical, hardworking and talented.

During his life he was active in his community. He was a member of Rotary for 64 years, served on the school board of Nevada Township during the 1940s and was an original trustee of the Gates Hall Foundation that established Gates Hall in Nevada. He was active in the United Methodist Church in Nevada as chairman of the trustees and many other positions. He served as a director of Living History Farms and was a member of the Nevada Historical Society.

Professionally, he was a charter member of the Iowa Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers, serving as state and national president of the National ASFMRA. In real estate, he had the title of accredited land consultant (ALC) and was state and national president of the Farm and Land Brokers, serving as national president of the Realtors Land Institute of the National Association of Realtors.

He has been actively involved with Iowa State University. He served on the ISU Agriculture Foundation for many years, taught rural appraisal classes in the College of Agriculture, and assisted the university in exchanging land for research and expansion. Carl's favorite past times included Cyclone athletics, traveling, fishing and family.

Carl is survived by his wife Marjory, whom he married 69 years ago; five of his six children; 12 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren who include son, Joel (Ann) Hertz of Monticello, Ill., and their three children, Chad (Heidi) Hertz of Cedar Falls and their children Ben, Anna, Grace and Ella, Nancy (Glen) Just of Indianapolis, Ind., and son, Tobin, and Karen Hertz of Toulouse, France; daughter, Mina Hertz (Rollie) Jacobs of Fort Dodge and their two children, Steven (Linda) Jacobs of San Mateo, Calif., and Janelle (Randy) Siders of Urbandale and their children, Grant, Haley, and Tate; son, Tom (Joyce) of Ames and their two children, Jana (Pieter) Ferdinandus of Jakarta, Indonesia, and Alan Hertz, DVM, of Nevada; grandson, Paul and his mother Carole, Laramie, Wyo.; son, Randy (Liz) of Nevada and their three children, Gina of Jakarta, Indonesia, Betsy, and Sally; daughter, Cathy Hertz (Steve) Eldredge of Fullerton, Calif., and their daughter, Stephanie; two American Field Service students, Piet Heida (Dr. Adriaan) Verbeek of the Netherlands and Nina Baeta (Kamme) Addo of Ghana who are considered members of the Hertz Family. Carl is also survived by his brother, Raymond (Beth) of Yellow Springs, Ohio.

He was preceded in death by his son C. Douglas Hertz, who was killed May 16, 1997, and his brothers Paul and Amos Hertz.

Memorials may be directed to the Hertz Timber Ridge Memorial Nature Preserve, which will be established in Story County Iowa, in care of the mortuary. Those wishing to send an online greeting, condolence, or memory may do so by visiting: http://www.hfmgt.com/carl

Chet Ryan Mortuary, 708 Fifth St., Nevada, Iowa, (515) 382-3547.