Marvin Eugene Gamm, 84, of Arlington, Iowa, passed away on Tuesday, March 12, 2019, at the Good Neighbor Home in Manchester. He was born on December 19, 1934, at home on a farm near Arlington, the son of Elmer and Iva (Smith) Gamm, where he attended rural country school, worked on his parents’ farm, and helped other local farmers.
On April 7, 1957, Marvin was united in marriage to Arlene Bahe at St. Paul Lutheran Church, rural Artesian. Three children were born to this union. After their marriage, Marvin worked for Leonard and Ruth Gamm, Tim Hamlett, and Bill Heubner before the family bought their own farm near Lamont and later Arlington, where they farmed for 43 years. Marvin served in the Army National Guard from 1957 through 1963. He and Arlene were members of Grace Evangelical Free Church in Elkader.
Marvin enjoyed custom farming and refurbishing tractors. He loved troubleshooting and figuring out the problem with the tractors. Marvin was always willing to help out anyone. September 26, 2010, stands as one of the most important dates in his life, as he gave his life to Jesus on that day.
Survivors include his wife of nearly 62 years, Arlene; three children, Sharon (Jerry) Miller of Manchester, Sandy (Mike) Ross of Arlington, and Brenda (Chris) Keppler of Strawberry Point; eight grandchildren, Brent (Tami) Miller of Readlyn, Heather (Dustin) Knight of LaPorte City, Sarah (Chris) Whittle of Elkader, Rachel (Tyler) Schuman of Earlville, Kelsey (Matt) Contreras of Urbandale, Ariell (Jared) Funk of Elkader, Dillon (Emily) Keppler of Marshalltown, and Kyle (Allison) Feldmann of Garnavillo; 14 great-grandchildren, with one on the way; his sister, Marilyn Shaffer of Arlington; two brothers, LaVern Gamm of California and Dean (Audrey) Gamm of Arlington, and many nieces and nephews.
Marvin was preceded in death by his parents; a brother-in-law, Reynold Shaffer, and a nephew, Kevin Gamm.
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