Michael Strief

MICHAEL J. STRIEF Cascade Michael J. Strief, 49, of Cascade, died Friday, March 29, 2019, at MercyOne Medical Center in Dubuque. Friends and relatives of Mike may call from 2 to 8 p.m. Thursday, April 4, at Reiff Funeral Home in Farley, where a prayer service will be held at 1:30 p.m. Friends also may call after 9 a.m. Friday at the funeral home. Services for Mike will be held at 10:30 a.m. Friday, April 5, at St. John's Catholic Church in Placid with the Rev. Michael Schueller presiding. Concelebrating will be the Rev. Thomas McDermott. Mass servers will be Klaire Bergfeld, Jake Hoefler and Callie Lynch. Eucharistic ministers will be Jodi Kronlage and Dawn Wilwert. Lectors will be Kristi Strief and Melissa King. Petitions will be read by Deb Kennedy. Placing of the Pall will be done by Shawn Strief, Madison Strief, Grace Strief, Adam Strief and Donna Strief. Giftbearers will be Dana Wegmann, Micah Wegmann, Theo Wegmann and Winnie Wegmann. Burial will be held at St. Joseph's Cemetery in Farley. Honorary pallbearers for Michael will be Matt King, Mitch Schueller, Dennis Hoffman, Dennis Manders, John Beringer, Matt Lansing, Todd Then, Roger Koppes, Steve Takes, Todd Bergfeld, Eastern Iowa Horse and Pony Camp and Employees of UPS. Casketbearers for Mike will be Jeremy Strief, Ty Kronlage, Austin Ressler, Brad Conrad, John Ressler, Scott Kennedy, Derek Strief and Nolan Strief. Michael was born Feb. 17, 1970, in Dubuque, Iowa, the son of William "Bill" and Donna (Simon) Strief. He was a 1988 graduate of Western Dubuque High School in Epworth. On Sept. 24, 1994, he was united in marriage to Shawn Kennedy at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Farley. He was employed with UPS for 30 years. Mike was famous on his UPS routes for his brown shorts and chicken legs. No one was a stranger to Mike; he was able to shoot the breeze with everyone. All other days you would find him putzing on the farm with his right hand man, Adam. At family events, Mike was a boisterous euchre player who could play his hand along with everyone else's. He passed his love for riding horses on to Madison and Grace and was proud of their many accomplishments, even though his ability to "ride" found him on the ground more often than not. Horse riding is a fabric of their family and those memories will be forever cherished. He was a member of the Eastern Iowa Horse and Pony Camp, Dubuque County Saddle Club, Tri-State Saddle Club, Teamsters Local No. 120, the American Paint Horse Association, American Quarter Horse Association, American Angus Association, Dubuque County 4-H, IA-MN Chuckwagon Association and Friends of the West Dubuque FFA. He also was a member of St. John's Parish in Placid and he was involved with the Farley-Epworth Christian Experience Weekend (CEW). He is survived by his wife, Shawn Strief of Cascade; his three children, Madison, Grace and Adam Strief, all at home; his mother, Donna Strief of Farley; six siblings, Julie Strief of Fenton, Mich., Jolene Strief (fiance Craig) of California, Mark (Lydia) Strief of Bernard, Janda Waters of Cedar Rapids, Jodi (Russell) Kronlage of Epworth and Matt (Kristi) Strief of Farley; a sister-in-law, Christine (Dean) Schrader of Monticello; his father- and mother-in-law, Mike and Sue Kennedy of Farley; brothers and sisters-in-law, Dana (Jason) Wegmann and Shelley (Brad) Wilken, both of Marion, and Kari (Chris) Smuck of Waterloo; and many aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his father, William K. "Bill" Strief on Sept. 26, 2010; and a brother, Martin Strief on Aug. 23, 1996. "Just one more, you know what I'm sayin'." Online condolences may be left for the family at www.reifffuneralhomeinc.com. A memorial funeral for the children of Michael has been established.