Homer Robert Focht, the son of Maurice and Grace (Hull) Focht was born June 30, 1923 in Montgomery County, Iowa, near Wallin. He passed away on Friday, August 9, 2019 at the Good Samaritan Society, Red Oak, Iowa at the age of 96 years, 1 month and 10 days.

Homer was raised in the Wallin area. He attended Beaver #3 country school thru the 8 ^th grade and then high school in Stanton. Homer graduated from Stanton High School with the class of l941. After graduation, he drove a truck for his brother, Aaron for 2 years. On November 9, 1943 Homer entered the U.S. Army Air Corps, where he flew B-25 bombers during WWII. He was honorably discharged on September 21, 1945. In early 1946, Homer bought an Army surplus Allis Chalmers bulldozer and "the rest as the say, is history." Homer was united in marriage to Dorothy Nelson on Feb 2, 1947 in Red Oak, Iowa and they had one daughter, Barbara. Homer pushed earth for 65 years, from 1946 till 2015. During his career the most famous projects include the Viking Lake project, where he worked six months clearing 150 acres of lakebed in preparation for construction of the new dam and 75 acres of trees in preparation for the lake. Because of that performance, it led to an even larger project, which was the construction of Lake Anita. Over the years, Homer pushed many terraces, laid miles and miles of tile lines and built ponds for farmers and landowners. During his career, he owned 12-15 dozers. He liked Caterpillars the best, as resale value would be three times better than others. Homer's passion for flying continued on after his military career. He used his plane and piloting to help the district promote conservation by giving flight tours. He enjoyed taking farmers on aerial tours wishing to see their conservation practices from the air. In 2016, Homer was honored by Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, Bill Northey as recipient of Secretary's Iowa Ag Leader Award in Conservation. Homer owned several planes and received the prestigious Master Pilot award with more than 50 years of safe flying. He was a member of the Montgomery County Veterans' Memorial Court of Honor, Red Oak Elks Lodge, a past member of the American Legion #406 Ernie Johnson Post and Masonic Lodge. Homer enjoyed hunting, fishing and spending time with his labrador retrievers.

Homer was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Dorothy on October 9, 2007; sisters, Florence and Laurena; and brothers, Aaron and Charlie.

Homer is survived by daughter, Barbara Peterson and husband, Daniel of Imogene, IA; two grandsons, Matt (Alexis) Wennstedt of Gretna, NE and Justin (Cindi) Wennstedt of Gretna, NE; and 4 great-grandchildren: Ava, Maya, Brogan and Brylie; other relatives and many friends.

May God bless his memory and give strength to those who mourn.

Funeral Service will be held

Tuesday, August 13, 2019 at 10:30 a.m.

Mamrelund Lutheran Church, Stanton, Iowa

Burial with Military Rites at 12:45 p.m. Evergreen Cemetery, Red Oak, Iowa

Visitation with the family present at Sellergren-Lindell-DeMarce Funeral Home on

Monday evening from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

A memorial is being established in Homer's name.

Sellergren-Lindell-DeMarce Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.