Jack Hovelson

*** The service will be live streamed at www.aboutfirst.com/hovelson *** Jack Hovelson, age 91, died on Tuesday, February 13, 2024, of natural causes at his assisted living residence in Surprise, Arizona. Jack was born November 27, 1932, in Osage, Iowa, the son of Herbert and Anita Hovelson. Jack graduated from New Hartford High School in 1950 and received a bachelor’s degree from Iowa State Teachers College (ISTC), now University of Northern Iowa, in 1957 after returning from a 17-month post in Japan while serving in the U.S. Army. On July 29, 1956, Jack married Ruth (Vial) Hovelson in Laurens, Iowa. The couple met at ISTC in 1953. The couple’s first daughter, Holly, was born in Webster City in 1958 and their second daughter Lisa was born in Ft. Dodge in 1960. The family moved shortly thereafter to Waterloo, and then in 1972, to Cedar Falls. Jack lived in Cedar Falls for the next 50 years until December of 2022 when he moved to Surprise, Arizona to be near daughter Lisa. Jack was a newspaper reporter in Iowa for his entire career, a vocation he loved. After a short stint with the Fort Dodge Messenger, Jack worked for the Waterloo Courier for seven years and then served as head of the Northeast Iowa Bureau for the Des Moines Register in Waterloo from 1968 to 1996, also working a 4-month assignment for USA Today in Washington, D.C. in 1993. Jack often reflected that there was no other job that would allow him to meet and interview as many interesting people and witness as many notable and historic events. After retiring, Jack had the opportunity to pass along some of his journalism knowledge to a younger generation when he served as advisor for the Northern Iowan student newspaper for another nine years. In later years, Jack and Ruth enjoyed extensive travel and were fortunate to visit 22 countries and 47 states. For more than 50 years, Jack was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Cedar Falls, where he served in many capacities. Jack enjoyed participating in various community activities and was a member of the Sons of Norway and the Arcturus Club. Survivors include daughters Holly (Don) Smith, of Powhatan, Virginia, Lisa Richards, of Surprise, Arizona, granddaughters Meghan Resler (Emmanuel) of Baltimore, Maryland, Kalene Resler (Barrett) of Kathmandu, Nepal, and Lexi Richards of Surprise Arizona, great-grandchildren Roscoe and Ramona Browne of Kathmandu, Nepal, and sister Lynne (Jim) Willey of Spring, Texas. Jack was preceded in death by his wife Ruth in 2019, his parents, and his brother Richard. Funeral services will be 11:00 a.m. Thursday, February 22, 2024, at First United Methodist Church in Cedar Falls. Visitation will be 12:00-3:00 p.m. Wednesday, February 21st at Richardson Funeral Service in Cedar Falls. Interment at Fairview Cemetery in Cedar Falls. In lieu of flowers, general memorials will be directed to an organization or project supporting Iowa journalism, to be determined at a later date. Memorials can also be directed to the Cedar Falls First United Methodist Church. *** If you would like to read more about Jack's contribution to journalism, click this link: https://open.substack.com/pub/patkinney/p/des-moines-papers-man-in-waterloo?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web ***

Jack Hovelson

November 27, 1932 - February 13, 2024