August 11, 1927-November 27, 2021
WATERLOO-Lawrence Mennenega, 94, of Waterloo passed away Nov 27, 2021 at Manor Care in Waterloo from complications of Prostate Cancer.
He was born August 11, 1927 in Holland, Iowa son of Kobus and Effie Agy Mennenega. He married Margaret (Maggie) Murphy on June 21, 1952 in Waterloo at St Joseph’s Catholic Church. She preceded him in death August 9, 2008. Lawrence (Larry) was eleven years old at the time of his mother’s passing. This caused Larry to spend much of his youth helping support the family.
Larry served in the U.S. Navy and Navy Reserves for eight years. He saw active duty in the South Pacific including Guam, Peleliu and the Admiralty Islands in the later stages of World War II. After the war, Larry was employed at Rath Packing for thirty-six years until it closed, then in the Home Shopping Network Warehouse for another four years before retiring.
Survived by: two sons, Alan (Cindy) of Waterloo and Ron (Ann Holland) of Greer, S.C.; and a sister LaVonne (Bonnie) Hamer of Cedar Rapids.
Preceded in death by: his wife Margaret; his parents, Kobus & Effie; three brothers, Harvey, Lloyd and Elmer.
Larry grew up appreciating the outdoors. As a youth, he enjoyed raising show pigeons. As an adult, he was an avid hunter and fisherman. On numerous occasions he flew into the Northern Ontario Canadian woods on a float plane to fish remote lakes. He could also be found frequently hunting snow geese in the Saskatoon, Saskatchewan region. Once he participated in a Yukon big game hunting expedition driving the gravel covered Alaskan highway before it was paved. In those days a wilderness journey into the mountains required a three day horseback ride. In summers, Larry could be found sharing the outdoors while camping with his family throughout the upper Midwest and Canada. Later in life he became an avid reader and enjoyed delivering motorhomes to Anchorage, Alaska. In the fall and winter he closely followed the Iowa Hawkeyes and enjoyed attending games. As he grew into his nineties he often was heard to say “you know the aches and pains you hear about as you grow older? They are real”.
Visitation: Wednesday, Dec 1, 2021, from 5- 8 p.m. at Hagarty-Waychoff Grarup Funeral Service on 300 W. Ridgeway Ave.
Graveside services will be conducted Thursday, Dec 2, 2021, 11:00 a.m. with interment at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Waterloo, where full military rites will be conducted by Amvets Post 31 and the U. S. Navy Honor Guard.
Memorials to Cedar Valley Hospice.
Condolences may be left with www.hagartywaychoffgrarup.com
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