Jerome William Ortman

Jerome William Ortman, 92, of Cedar Falls passed away on Sunday, April 18, 2021.  He was born July 13, 1928, in Cedar Rapids, Nebraska, son of Henry and Martha (Hoffman) Ortman.  The family moved to the Waterloo area during the Depression where his father found work at John Deere.  Jerry graduated from Waterloo West High with the Class of 1946.  On April 16, 1950, he was united in marriage to Mary Lou Haskenhoff in Waterloo.  She passed away March 14th, 1979.  Jerry married Nannette (Herwig) Anderson on September 4, 1981, in Cedar Falls.  She passed away July 29, 2002.  Jerry was a successful electrical contractor and part owner of two local businesses, See Electric and K&W Electric. He retired in 1993.

Jerry was preceded in death by his parents; wives, Mary Lou and Nan; and a brother-in-law, Dave Koob.  He is survived by his children:  Paula (Bob) Keesy of Niwot, CO, Dennis (Karen) Ortman of Escondido, CA, and Joel (Sue) Ortman of Stillwater, MN; 5 grandchildren; 8 great-grandchildren; and sister, Elaine Koob of Stillwater, MN.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 11:00 am Saturday, August 7, 2021 at Nazareth Evangelical Lutheran Church of Cedar Falls.  Memorials may be directed to Christian Crusaders and/or Nazareth Lutheran Church and condolences can be left at www.DahlFuneralHome.com .

Jerry's mind was always working whether dreaming of a new project or seeking a solution for a current one.  Jerry enjoyed outdoor activities, fishing and hunting, exhibiting seemingly endless patience waiting for his prey. He cherished time with his family, camping was a favorite which included vacationing at Dixon Lake in northern Minnesota starting back in 1960.  Jerry could build or fix anything that he wanted and devoted most of his time in retirement to serving his community. He enjoyed building homes with Habitat for Humanity and traveling to New Orleans with a group from church after Hurricane Katrina.  He was incredibly generous with his time and talents at Nazareth Lutheran Church where he was a daily fixture and integral member of the team.  He felt overwhelmingly blessed by all of the gifts he had received from God throughout his life and spent his twilight years responding to that gift of grace by caring for, serving and helping others in response to the love of Jesus.  Jerry will be deeply missed.