Gordon Wittrup

Gordon Lyle Wittrup, 89, of Atlantic, Iowa, passed away Wednesday, March 19, 2014, at the Cass County Memorial Hospital in Atlantic, Iowa.

Lyle was born June 14, 1924, on the family farm in rural Elk Horn, Iowa, to Walter and Meta (Laursen) Wittrup. He attended the Elk Horn Community Schools and graduated high school with the class of 1942. He joined the United States Army. Lyle served in Europe during WWII. Upon his discharge from the service, he returned to Elk Horn and lived the rest of his life within 20 miles of Elk Horn.

He was united in marriage to Gerda Leistad on February 15, 1948. He worked for a short period as a lineman for REC in Harlan, Iowa. Lyle then tried his hand at farming from 1955 to 1962. When he decided that farming was not for him, he moved his family to Atlantic, Iowa, and began working for the Atlantic Municipal Utilities in 1963 and remained there until he retired in 1986. They were married for 56 years when Gerda passed away on February 24, 2005.

Lyle was a Boy Scout leader and volunteer for many years. His love of working with stained glass allowed him to start his business, Stained Glass Creations, which he was able to work full time after his retirement from AMU. Lyle also shared his craft with others through teaching classes with stained glass. Lyle had a great memory of all things and he loved to share the memories of his life with others. His greatest passion was spending time with his family.

He is survived by his special friend, Betty Mauk of Atlantic, IA; his children, Kim (Tana) Wittrup of Pueblo, CO, Krisite (Terry) Frein of North Port, FL, Kyle (Debbie) Wittrup of Ankeny, IA, and Karla (Kevin) Sorensen of Corning, IA; nine grandchildren; 7 great-grandchildren; other family and many friends.

Lyle was preceded in death by his parents, Walter and Meta Wittrup; his wife, Gerda Wittrup and his brothers, Norman, Robert, Burton and Bruce.

Memorial services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Tuesday, March 25, 2014, at Hockenberry Family Care in Atlantic.

A private family burial will be held at a later date.

Per Lyle’s wishes, cremation has taken place and there is no scheduled visitation.