Tuesday, January 26, 2021 12:10 am
Lance Sbiral, 76, of Spillville, died Monday, Jan. 25, 2021 at his home outside of Spillville surrounded by his family.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2021 at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church in Spillville, with Deacon Dan O’Brien presiding. Burial will be in the St. Wenceslaus Catholic Cemetery with full military rites. Visitation will be from 10:00 a.m. until the time of service on Saturday at the church. Everyone attending will be required to wear a mask and practice social distancing. Cards may be sent to his family at: 1938 Co Rd W14, Calmar, IA 52132.
Lance was born Dec. 10, 1944, in Decorah, Iowa to Alden and Eileen (Hauber) Sbiral. He grew up on the family farm outside of Spillville and attended St Wenceslaus Elementary School and graduated from South Winneshiek high school in 1963. From there, Lance attended Winona State University and graduated in 1967 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and a minor in Chemistry. From there he taught science and coached football and track at Benton Community Schools in Wisconsin. Upon being drafted during the Vietnam War in 1969, he joined the United States Air Force. Lance was stationed for two years at Ellsworth AFB in Rapid City, South Dakota as a missile electrician before he attended Officers Training School to become a Missile Launch Control Officer. He was then assigned to FE Warren AFB in Cheyenne, Wyoming where he served as a Missile Launch Control Officer for the remaining six years of his service career. He retired as a Captain in 1977 and moved back to Spillville, Iowa in 1978 to farm with his family. Lance married his high school sweetheart, Jan (Janice Wiest) in 1970. They had two children, Jason Sbiral and Jennessa (Sbiral) Luzum. Lance had many hobbies and interests in addition to farming. He was an avid antique collector and refinished and restored many pieces of antique furniture. He always enjoyed attending auctions as well as selling antiques at regional shows. In addition to loving nature and trees, he owned and operated a sawmill on his farm. Lance enjoyed fishing, hunting, and especially loved his trout pond as well as turtle fishing with many of Spillville’s finest local Bohemians. He always loved sharing his interests, talents, and hobbies with his children and grandchildren.
He is survived by his wife Jan. Children: Jason (Alice) Sbiral, Spillville, IA and Jennessa (Brian) Luzum, Decorah, IA. Grandchildren: Noah and Trevor Sbiral; Cael, Ellie and Lauren Luzum. Mother: Eileen Sbiral, Fort Atkinson, IA. Sisters: Diane (Max) Haegele, Lakewood, CO; Lynn (friend, Richard vanGenderen) Staley, Cresco, IA and Arla (Dr. Tom) Kafka, Cresco, IA. Brothers and sisters-in-law: Wayne (Corinne) Wiest, Calmar, IA; Joyce (Roger) Hageman, Ossian, IA; Judy (Dr. W. Douglas) Weaver, Birmingham, MI; Ron (friend, Mary Tschida) Wiest, St. Paul, MN and Joan (Dan) Allers, Hiawatha, IA along with nieces and nephews.Lance was preceded in death by his father: Alden Sbiral. Father and mother-in-law: Arthur and Ellen (Schwickerath) Wiest. Nephew: Darin Hageman.
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