Larry J. Willenborg, 65, of Carroll Iowa, passed away September 14, 2022 at his home after a two year battle with pancreatic cancer.
A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m., Monday, September 19, 2022 at Holy Spirit Church – St. John Paul II Parish in Carroll. The Celebrant will be Fr. Timothy Schott. Music will be by Kathy Halbur and Sherry Loughran. Lector for the Funeral Mass will be Kevin Sturm. Gift Bearers will be Aubrey Nees, Ethan Nees, Jaxon Willenborg, and Jace Willenborg.
Visitation will be from 3-5 p.m. on Sunday at the Sharp Funeral Home in Carroll with a Christian Wake Service at 5 p.m. Additional visitation will be from 9:30-10:15 a.m. on Monday at the church. Funeral arrangements are under the guidance of the Sharp Funeral Home in Carroll and online condolences may be left for Larry’s family at www.sharpfuneral.com.
Larry, son of Edward and Marlene (Eischeid) Willenborg, was born April 3, 1957, in Carroll, Iowa. He grew up on a farm West of Carroll, attended Kuemper Catholic High School and graduated with the class of 1975. After high school he worked at General Electric for 25 years. Following the Carroll factory closing, Larry and his brothers purchased some of the auctioned machines and started their own screw machine shop. He helped run that business well into his final days. Over his lifetime he dabbled in raising rabbits, turkeys, chickens, cows and in most recent years, hogs. He also farmed his entire life with his Dad, Edward, and two brothers, Denny and Jerry.
On November 17, 1979 he was united in marriage to his wife Peg Sturm at Sacred Heart Church in Templeton. They have three marvelous children: Angie, Brian and Jay.
Over the years he enjoyed hunting, fishing, traveling, tinkering and spending time with his kids and grandkids. He enjoyed chatting with anyone that stopped by the shop and telling his stories (sometimes on repeat). In later years, he started his own garden at the shop and loved competing with his wife for who had the better produce. He loved sharing everything he grew with anyone that appreciated it.
Larry’s last wish was to donate his tumor to the University of Nebraska Medical Center for pancreatic cancer research. Due to careful planning, his family was able to carry out that wish in hopes of improving outcomes for patients and families that find themselves on a similar cancer journey in the future.
He is survived by his wife of 42 years, Peg Willenborg of Carroll; his children Angie (John) Nees of Waterloo, IA, Brian Willenborg and significant other, Stephanie Brincks of Carroll, Jay (Becca) Willenborg of Carroll; four grandchildren Aubrey, Ethan, Jaxon and Jace; parents Edward and Marlene Willenborg of Carroll; brothers Denny (Julie) Willenborg of Carroll and Jerry (Jan) Willenborg of Carroll; sister Sue (Dave) Kennebeck of Carroll; In-laws Deb (Ron) Bauer of Urbandale, IA, Dale (Nina) Sturm of Villisca, IA, Dan (Diane) Sturm of Roselle, IA, Kathy (Wayne) Rosonke of Papillion, NE, Jan (Jim) Herzberg of Villisca, IA, Scott (Ali) Sturm of Templeton, IA; Many nieces, nephews, relatives and friends.
