Obituary: Lawrence Willard Iams

Services for Lawrence Willard Iams, 73, Tonganoxie, formerly of Topeka, were Friday, July 1, 2005, at Davidson Funeral Home in Topeka.

Burial, with military honors, was in Mount Hope Cemetery, Topeka.

Mr. Iams died June 28, 2005, at Country Care Center in Easton. He was born Nov. 25, 1931, in a farm house in the Plumb Township in Wabaunsee County, near Harveyville, the son of Corb Corbett and Iva Ruth Seley Iams.

He grew up on farms in Wabaunsee and Morris counties. He was a truck driver for Hill Packing from 1947 to 1949. He was inducted into the U.S. Army on Aug. 23, 1950, in Topeka. He served in Germany during the Korean War and was discharged as a corporal on Aug. 29, 1953 at Camp Breckenridge, Ky.

He married Deloris M. Berends on Dec. 2, 1954. They later divorced.

Mr. Iams worked most of his life as a self-employed concrete construction worker.

He was an associate pastor and pastor in the Topeka area during the 1960s and 1970s.

Survivors include a sister, Marjorie Cowdin, Janesville, Minn.; two children, Lawrence Gene Iams, Auburn, and Marie Kay Anno, Tonganoxie; and six grandchildren.

The family suggests memorial contributions to the Parkinson’s Association, sent in care of the funeral home, 1035 N. Kansas Ave., Topeka 66608.