George
Harold "Bibs" Minard
(1909-2003)
George Harold "Bibs" Minard was born
on March 8, 1909 in
Hawleyville, Page County, IA, the son of Albert
Everett and Mary Ellen (Knepple) Minard.
Bibs married Iva "Irene" Fleck ( ? -1979). The
ceremony was held at the Methodist Parsonage in Clarinda, Page County on Dec. 11, 1929.
A photograph portrait of Irene as a young woman, wearing a stylish hat of the late 1920s or early 1930s, is seen at right.
The Minards had seven children -- Edwin Minard, Dorothy Compton, Clyde Minard, Ronald Douglas Minard, John Minard, Darlene Garrett and Elaine Luzmoor.
According to the Villisca Review newspaper, Bibs "farmed from 1930-1952 and then operated a road grader for Page County until his retirement."
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| Bibs as a boy with favorite pet dogs |
Sadly, Irene passed away in 1979. The details are not known.
Bibs outlived his wife by nearly a quarter of a century. He
also was the last surviving member of his family of brothers and sisters. He
spent his remaining years in Clarinda, losing his sight and his hearing, but
remaining alert.
Seen at right is a commemorative napkin honoring his 80th birthday in 1989.
Over
the years, Bibs' family continued holding their annual "Cousins
Reunion." In 1985, Bibs and his brother Bob,
and sisters Ostie
Henneman and Lola
Crawford, were photographed together holding Bibs' four great-grandchildren,
who were quintuplet babies of the Morrison family. The photograph appeared in a
local newspaper article about the reunion. The clipping is seen at left, today
preserved in a family scrapbook.
In 2003, the General Assembly of the State of Iowa officially recognized Bibs on his 94th birthday. Click here to see a copy of the Iowa House Journal for March 10, 2003, mentioning Bibs by name.
Bibs passed away on Aug. 4, 2003, and is buried in Hawleyville
Cemetery. At his death, said the Clarinda Herald-Journal, Bibs was
survived by 20 grandchildren, 43 great grandchildren and six great-great
grandchildren.
On Aug. 14, 2005, the descendants of Bibs and his brother Clyde Minard and sister Lola Crawford gathered at the Garrett home in Altoona, IA for their annual "Cousins Reunion." They played baseball and croquet, and enjoyed golf cart rides, as well as reminiscing about younger times, and enjoying the countryside view. A story about the "Cousins Reunion" was carried in the local newspaper. The headline and top part of the article can be seen at left.
Son Ronald Douglas Minard married Madonna Marie White on Nov. 22, 1972 in Harrison, Boone County, AR. Ronald was employed by Great Plains Bag Corporation and was transferred around the country. This included moves to New Philadelphia, OH and to Harrison, AR (1974). In 1976, Ronald began working for an International Harvester dealership in Clarinda. The family relocated again to Jacksonville, AR (1975-1987) and Cabot, AR. Their children were Scott Douglas Minard, Robert John Minard, Ronald Patrick Minard and Shannon Marie Minard. Today many of the family work in the healthcare and firefighting fields.
More will be added here when learned.
Copyright © 2005-2006 Mark A. Miner