Jack C. Merten

Jack C. Merten, 75, of Clinton passed away Sunday at Select Specialty Hospital in Davenport.

 

Memorial Services will be 11:00am, Tuesday July 2, 2024 at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Clinton with a lunch and fellowship to follow. Burial will be at the Rock Island National Cemetery. Online condolences may be expressed by visiting his obituary at www.snellzornig.com.

 

Jack Charles Merten was born May 20, 1948 in Ventura, Iowa, the son of Clyde and Ida (Adams) Merten. He was a 1966 graduate of Garner Hayfield High School in Garner, Iowa. He attended NIACC Community College and then went to UNI and received his teaching certificates. He earned his master’s degree from St. Ambrose in administration. Jack was the shop teacher at Northeast High School for 10 years and then taught at Clinton Community College. He left teaching and went to work for the Army Corps of Engineers, working in communication and water control. He retired in 2008.

 

Jack served in the United States Navy on board the USS HASSAYAMPA from 1967 - 1969 and then continued to serve in the Navy Reserves for 33 ½ years. He was proud to serve his country and enjoyed his time traveling during his time in the reserves. Jack married Darlene Foell on August 28, 1971 and together they raised three sons. He loved spending time with his family and wintering in Orange Beach, Alabama with his wife after retirement. He enjoyed time spent on the river and he was a Scout Master for Troop 642 leading trips to the boundary waters. He continued to take yearly canoe trips to the boundary waters with his close friends, sometimes multiple trips each year. Jack enjoyed spending time with his friends from childhood and his close friends in Clinton.

 

He is survived by his wife of 52 years Darlene Merten of Clinton, three sons: Eric (Renee) Merten of Ellensberg, Washington, Timothy (Katrina Krause) Merten of Brookings, Oregon and Steffen (Christina) Merten of Wellington, New Zealand; grandchildren: Kathryn, Sarah, Sequoia, Oliva and Oscar; siblings: Raymond Merten, Susan Wells and Nancy Frye; mother-in-law: Christine Foell; siblings-in-law: Cecil (Linda) Foell, Carol (Terry) Pruessner and Bob (Lonnie) Foell; and many nieces and nephews.

 

Jack was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers George Merten and Frank Merten, two sisters: Betty Wells and Mary Auchenpach and sister-in-law Barbara (Dale) Dixon.