GARNER – Michael D. Diekhuis, 52, of Garner died Tuesday (December 11, 2007) at the University of Iowa Hospitals in Iowa City.

Memorial services will be held 11:00 A.M., Saturday at Zion Evangelical and Reformed Church in Garner with Rev. David Graham officiating. Inurnment will be in Concord Township Cemetery.

Visitation will be held from 4 to 7 P.M., Friday at the Cataldo Funeral Chapel in Garner and will continue one hour prior to services at the church.

Memorials may be directed to Michael Diekhuis Memorial Fund.

Michael Duane Diekhuis, the son of Marvin and Phyllis (Pierce) Diekhuis, was born April 12, 1955 at Belmond. He was confirmed at Zion Evangelical & Reformed Church in Garner and graduated from Garner-Hayfield High School in 1973. Following graduation, he worked for Rock Island Railroad at Mason City. In 1976, he moved to California and worked for an oil company for a few years before going into housing construction. On July 18, 1981 he married Sandy Webb at Santa Maria, CA. They lived in Santa Maria where they raised their two children, Jessica and Jacob. In 1990, he moved to Oregon where he met Jayne Chipman. They lived on a ranch near Jacksonville where Mike was employed in construction and helped raise Jayne’s two children, Brian and Heather. In 2005, he retired and moved back to Garner. Mike had battled cancer for the past 16 years. He enjoyed his family, friends, horses, camping, target shooting, scuba diving, mountain climbing, white water rafting and most recently, motorcycling.

He was a member of Zion Evangelical and Reformed Church in Garner.

Mike is survived by his parents, Marvin and Phyllis Diekhuis, of Garner; children, Jessica and Jacob Diekhuis of Ojai, CA; step children, Brian Chipman of Beaverton, OR and Heather (Robert) Penner of Fiji; a sister, Marlene (Dennis) Willey of Cedar Rapids; two brothers, Craig (Donna) Diekhuis of Mason City and Jimmie (Jeanine) Diekhuis of Garner; nieces; nephews; aunts; uncles and many cousins.

He was preceded in death by his maternal and paternal grandparents.