Edward Eddie Mathiasen, Jr.
September 8, 1925 — September 2, 2017
Edward Mathiasen, Jr., son of Edward and Hannah (Greve) Mathiasen, Sr., was born September 8, 1925 on a farm near Harlan, Iowa. He attended Windy Knoll Country School and Harlan High School until the 10th grade, when he left to help his father on the farm during the war.
Eddie was united in marriage to Ilo Marie Andersen on January 23, 1948, at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Jacksonville, Iowa. Following their wedding, the young couple farmed near Harlan. Eddie raised cattle, hogs, corn and soybeans. He loved tinkering with the tractors to try to get a few extra horsepower out of them, so he wouldn’t have to shift when going over a hill. If he couldn’t be found on the farm, he was most likely to be found at the round table with his friends at Mickel’s. He was also found with a smile on his face when running the combine or his pride and joy tractor, the 560 Diesel “Snortin Norton”.
Eddie self taught himself to play the drums and formed the Jolly Home Brewers Polka Band, which performed for years throughout the Midwest. In 2000, he was inducted into the Iowa Polka Music Hall of Fame.
In 2014, Eddie retired from the farm to live at Salem Lutheran Home in Elk Horn, Iowa, where he died on Saturday, September 2, 2017, attaining the age of ninety-one years, eleven months, and twenty-five days. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife Ilo Mathiasen, two infant sons, brothers Robert Mathiasen and Howard Mathiasen.
He is survived by his son Steven Mathiasen of Harlan, Iowa; grandsons Jerod Mathiasen of Harlan, Iowa; Ross Mathiasen and his fiancé Michelle Kompare of Omaha, Nebraska; siblings Norman Mathiasen and his wife Jo of Harlan, Iowa; Rosemary Petersen of Elk Horn, Iowa; Ann Wendt of Omaha, Nebraska; Ron Mathiasen of Harlan, Iowa; nieces and nephews; other family members and friends.
Eddie was united in marriage to Ilo Marie Andersen on January 23, 1948, at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Jacksonville, Iowa. Following their wedding, the young couple farmed near Harlan. Eddie raised cattle, hogs, corn and soybeans. He loved tinkering with the tractors to try to get a few extra horsepower out of them, so he wouldn’t have to shift when going over a hill. If he couldn’t be found on the farm, he was most likely to be found at the round table with his friends at Mickel’s. He was also found with a smile on his face when running the combine or his pride and joy tractor, the 560 Diesel “Snortin Norton”.
Eddie self taught himself to play the drums and formed the Jolly Home Brewers Polka Band, which performed for years throughout the Midwest. In 2000, he was inducted into the Iowa Polka Music Hall of Fame.
In 2014, Eddie retired from the farm to live at Salem Lutheran Home in Elk Horn, Iowa, where he died on Saturday, September 2, 2017, attaining the age of ninety-one years, eleven months, and twenty-five days. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife Ilo Mathiasen, two infant sons, brothers Robert Mathiasen and Howard Mathiasen.
He is survived by his son Steven Mathiasen of Harlan, Iowa; grandsons Jerod Mathiasen of Harlan, Iowa; Ross Mathiasen and his fiancé Michelle Kompare of Omaha, Nebraska; siblings Norman Mathiasen and his wife Jo of Harlan, Iowa; Rosemary Petersen of Elk Horn, Iowa; Ann Wendt of Omaha, Nebraska; Ron Mathiasen of Harlan, Iowa; nieces and nephews; other family members and friends.
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