In Loving Memory
Fred W. Brattmiller
April 16, 1927 - March 18, 2020

GRAVESIDE SERVICE
Saturday, March 21, 2020
1:00 P.M.
Silver Lake Cemetery
Ayrshire, Iowa

CLERGY
Rev. Paul Schulz
Zion Lutheran Church
Ayrshire, Iowa

INTERMENT
Silver Lake Cemetery
Ayrshire, Iowa

MILITARY RITES
American Legion Post #173
Ayrshire, Iowa

Jack Chism ~ Taps player

Fred Brattmiller was born April 16, 1927, on the family farm near Ayrshire, Iowa, as the third child of Fred John and Sadie Brattmiller. He was baptized May 8, 1927, and confirmed in 1940 at Zion Lutheran Church in Ayrshire. Fred graduated from Silver Lake High School in 1944 as part of the Greatest Generation. He was drafted on December 11, 1951 and proudly served as a U.S. Marine airplane mechanic and earned the rank of Sergeant. Fred was honorably discharged on December 3, 1953.

Fred married Alice Mae Hogge on September 4, 1959, in Jefferson, Iowa. They farmed near Pocahontas until moving to the family farm in 1963, which became a Century Farm in 1999. Fred lived a long and productive life, much of which was devoted to raising he and Alice's four children: Ronald, Janet, Karen and Sharon and growing crops and livestock north of Silver Lake.

Fred was a 4th generation farmer and a land steward who made soil conservation a priority in the Silver Lake watershed. As a kid, he helped plant corn with a team of horses, harvested oats with a Rumely steam thrasher, and took off a few weeks from school to pick corn by hand. He was thankful when corn harvest was done with a mounted corn picker. He experienced great changes in agriculture.

Fred was a member of American Legion Post #173 in Ayrshire.  He volunteered for many years as the treasurer at Zion Lutheran Church. His family and his faith were very important to him.

With a quick laugh and an easy sense of humor, Fred enjoyed the simple things in life; visiting with family and friends, joking around with his kids and grandkids, baseball, and spending time at Silver Lake. He never took himself too seriously and he put others before himself.   He always had a fun story to share and tried to enjoy each day as a gift from God. Fred was proud to be an Iowan and thankful that all of his kids were Iowans.

Fred W. Brattmiller, 92, of Ayrshire, passed away on March 18, 2020. He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife Alice, brothers Rollie and Bill, sister Ruth, and granddaughter Kate.

Fred is survived by his siblings: Doris Rosberg of Wausa, Nebraska, and Jim Brattmiller and his wife Hope of Spirit Lake, Iowa; his children: Ronald of Forest City, Iowa; Janet Wackerbarth and her husband Darwin of Spirit Lake, Iowa; Karen Klinkefus and her husband Jon of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and their daughter Jill; and Sharon Chism and her husband John of Huxley, Iowa, and their sons Jim and Jack, and many other relatives and friends.

Arrangements by Martin-Mattice Funeral Home