grave import

Obituary

Mr. John E. Mercer, Jr. 71, of Burlington, died at 7:55 p.m Saturday, November 12, 2011, at Great River Medical Center. Born August 14, 1940, in Fort Madison, he was the son of John E. Mercer Sr. and Ruth (Arthur) Mercer. He married Marilyn A. Fraise at St. John's Catholic Church in Houghton on September 16, 1961, and they recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Mr. Mercer was a 1958 graduate of Fort Madison High School and attended Loras College in Dubuque. John worked ten years for the Santa Fe Railroad, was the Director of Building and Zoning for the City of Fort Madison for thirteen years, and retired in 2004 after being the Development Director for the City of Burlington for twenty-one years. After retiring he continued to enjoy working on special projects. A few of his major accomplishments were to coordinate and rebuild the Burlington Area Homeless Shelter and the Manor Revisited Project. He assisted in flood recovery during the Mississippi River Flood of 2008. Mr. Mercer was a member of SS. John and Paul Catholic Church, member and past president of Iowa Conference of Building Officials, Ducks Unlimited, and member and past president of Southeast Iowa Regional Housing Authority. He was also active on many boards including the Electrical and Plumbing Boards for the City of Burlington. John was also a master electrician. John was most passionate about his family and devoted his life to them. He enjoyed being involved with many family building projects and insured that they complied to building codes. He was also an avid sportsman and had a passion for fishing, hunting and spending time with his family at his cabin on the Mississippi River. He loved supporting the Iowa Hawkeyes. Survivors include his wife Marilyn Mercer of Burlington; three children, Cherylyn (Andy) Holdefer of Castle Rock, Colorado, John E. (Lori) Mercer III of Burlington, and Becky (Tim) Snyder Sr. of Burlington. He will be greatly missed by his seven grandchildren, Amber, Aimee, and Drew Holdefer of Castle Rock, Colorado, John E. Mercer IV and Max Mercer of Burlington, Timmy and Jessica Snyder of Burlington; three sisters, Karlene Robertson of Middle Amana, Sharon Fisher of Burlington, and Karen Rockhold of Donnellson; one brother, Mike Mercer Sr. of Wever; and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents. Friends may call from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. Thursday, November 17th, at Lunning Chapel, where the family will receive friends from 5 until 8 p.m. A Christian Wake Service will be held at 7 p.m. The Mass of Christian Burial for Mr. Mercer will be 10 a.m. Friday, November 18th at St. John's Catholic Church. The Rev. Anthony Herold will be the celebrant. Interment will be at Aspen Grove Cemetery. A memorial has been established to benefit the Burlington Area Homeless Shelter.