Jerold John "Jerry" Barten

Jerold ("Jerry") John Barten, age 88, formerly of Ankeny, Iowa, passed away Saturday, January 25, 2025, at Ramsey Village in Des Moines, Iowa, from complications related to dementia/Alzheimer's disease. Jerry was known for being incredibly kind, generous and light-hearted in his words and actions. He looked for the good in everyone and believed in the dignity of all people. He was the second of four children born to Richard and Ida (Zaiger) Barten. Jerry grew up in Gray, Iowa and was later raised by his maternal aunt and uncle Emma (Zaiger) and Herman Kienast on their farm in rural Manning. During his high school years, he was raised by Harry and Lois Segebart with their children, Robert, Louis, Jay and LuAnn, on their farm in rural Westside, Iowa. He enjoyed working on the farm and running track. He graduated from Westside High School in 1955. He attended Northwest Missouri State College in Maryville, Missouri, where he was active in the Boy Scout service fraternity and met his lifelong friends, Paul Sorensen and John McClaren.
Jerry met the love of his life, Sarah Margarette Meyer, at Northwest Missouri State. She was in the Girl Scout service sorority, he had a car, and he offered to drive her on weekends and holidays to her family's farm in Vail, Iowa. Jerry earned his bachelor's degree in agricultural education. He then worked for Katz Drug Store in Kansas City, Missouri.
After Sarah graduated from college, they married on June 16, 1963, and moved to rural Elkhart, Iowa. Jerry served his military duty in the Army Reserves early in their marriage. Jerry also worked for Farm Service selling and delivering cattle feed, while Sarah worked for Polk City Schools teaching. They became members of Palestine Lutheran Church in Huxley, Iowa. They had four children, Jerry, Carla, Chris and JoAnn. They moved to their own home in Ankeny, Iowa in 1975 and became members of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church. Jerry also began working for John Deere building cotton pickers until his retirement.
When Jerry's children were young, he took them sledding, fishing and camping. He taught them how to ride bicycles, throw a ball, and build pinewood derby cars. He helped Sarah with Cub/Boy Scouts. Never one to sit still, Jerry always had side jobs building backyard sheds as well as lawn care and snow removal for the elderly in the community. He was a great supporter of the Ankeny High School FFA, Girls Basketball and Girls Softball. For many summers, he hosted the children's tractor pull contest for Ankeny Summerfest, providing the tractors, trailers, and prizes. Jerry also grew tomatoes and provided fresh tomatoes to the residents of Sunnyview Care Center nursing home in Ankeny.
After retiring from John Deere, Jerry moved his garden plot and began growing tomatoes on a larger scale. He grew, harvested and delivered 1,000 to 3,000 pounds of tomatoes each summer to the food banks in Ankeny and the rest of Polk County. He continued to attend church regularly and often helped with outdoor projects. He accompanied Sarah to visit family and friends, for genealogy cemetery trips, and to Branson for concerts. He loved his grandchildren and enjoyed attending their events, sharing their birthdays and holidays, and spending summer weekends at Lake Marie with them. He drove and supported the Team Buttice Ragbrai bus for a number of years. He continued gardening, doing his own repairs, mowing and shoveling snow into his 80's. He enjoyed reading the daily newspaper, coffee from Casey's, and had a voracious appetite for ice cream.
Survivors include his children: Jerry (Lori) Barten, Chris Barten and JoAnn Barten; grandchildren: Athena Barten, Leah Bigelow, Carl Bigelow, Maggie Barten, Molly Barten, Joshua Barten, as well as, Abbigail Tharp and Dylan Smith. Other survivors include niece Janiece (Mark) Lewis, great-niece and nephew Angela and Curtis (Marie), Carleen Barten spouse of nephew Douglas Barten, nephew Glen Barten, great niece and nephew Molly and Ronny (Brittany). Survivors on his wife Sarah's side of the family include: Jolene Meyer spouse of Donald Meyer, nephew James (Faye) Meyer, great niece and nephew Lindsey (Cory) Barwald and Nicholas, Gloria Meyer spouse of nephew Larry Meyer and great nephew Gerrit, niece Suzanne (Mike) Bunting and great nephews Patrick (Emily) and B.J., niece Paula ("Kayti") Pohlman, great-niece Rosmina Garcia, nephew Matthew (Dawn) Pohlman, great-niece and nephew Miranda and Grant.
Preceded in death are his wife Sarah, daughter Carla, parents Richard and Ida, brother Lloyd, sisters Bernice and Leone, nephew Douglas, and step-grandson Joshua Smith. Preceded in death on his wife Sarah's side of the family are his in-laws Carl and Edna (Hell) Meyer; Sarah's brothers Donald and Marcus, sister Jeanette (Meyer) Pohlman, sister-in-law Amy Meyer, nephew Larry Meyer and niece Kayti Pohlman's son Junior Garcia.
Visitation with family present will be 4 PM - 6 PM on Thursday, January 30, 2025, at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 517 SW Des Moines Street, Ankeny, IA. Funeral Services (light lunch to follow) will be held at 10:30 AM on Friday, January 31, 2025, at Holy Trinty Lutheran Church, Ankeny, Iowa. Graveside service will be at 2:30 PM at the Manning Cemetery (south entrance) in Manning, Iowa.
In lieu of flowers, plants or memory stones, please make a memorial contribution to your local food bank. Memorial Contributions will be donated to the Food Bank of Iowa under Jerold's name.
On-line condolences: DyamondMemorial.com