John Edgar Orton

HAWARDEN, IOWA ~ John Edgar Orton, 96, of Hawarden, passed away on Thursday, December 21, 2023, at Hillcrest Health Care Services in Hawarden.

   A Celebration of Life Service and Luncheon will be 11:00 a.m. Saturday, May 4, 2024 at the United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall in Hawarden, Iowa. Private family inurnment and military rites will be prior to the service. The Porter Funeral Home in Hawarden is assisting the family. John's family prefers memorials be directed to the Hawarden Regional Healthcare Hospital.

   John Edgar Orton was born May 2, 1927, at Ireton, Iowa, as the son of John Alexander and Marie Christine (Swanson) Orton. He attended country school near McNally, Iowa through the 8^th grade. John was inducted into the Army Air Force on September 25, 1945. He served with the 305th Fighter Control Squadron and was a radar operator in Okinawa during his military service. He was honorably discharged August 5, 1946.

   John married Marilyn Lambertson on October 7, 1950, at the Ireton United Methodist Church. The couple began their life together in Hawarden, Iowa and then they moved to a farm southeast of Hawarden. John retired from active farming in 2009. They continued to live on the farm until just recently moving to Mica Hill Estates Assisted Living in Hawarden.

   John and Marilyn loved to dance together, dancing polkas and waltzes, and as John once said, “We danced anywhere that had a good dance floor”. John loved to restore old tractors and enjoyed bowling. He was a member of the Hawarden United Methodist Church, the American Legion, and the Eagles Aerie #1865 of Hawarden.

   Survivors include his wife of 73 years, Marilyn; 4 children, Dennis Orton of Mead, Colorado, Lynn (Ralph) Allbee of Eldora, Iowa, Dawn (Al) Malone of Worthington, Ohio, and Keaven (Trish Kunkel) Orton of Sioux Falls, South Dakota; 4 grandchildren; 4 step grandchildren; 9 great-grandchildren; and 3 step great-grandchildren.

   John was preceded in death by his parents, John and Marie; infant son, Steven; mother-in-law, Dora Lambertson; 3 sisters; 2 sisters-in-law; and 5 brothers-in-law.