David Raak
David Raak
Ryan
David Raak, 76, died Tuesday, February 13, 2024, at the Regional Medical Center, Manchester following an extended illness.
Funeral services will be held, 12:00 noon Saturday, February 17, 2024, at the Stone Church, Manchester with interment in the Prairie Hill Cemetery, rural Monticello. Friends may call after 10:00 am at the church until service time. Goettsch Funeral Home, Monticello has taken David and his family into their care.
David Scott Raak was born February 7, 1948, to Dennis and Eunice (Menning) Raak and raised on a farm near Ireton, IA. He was the oldest of five children and enjoyed being the only boy. He attended a one-room schoolhouse through 5th grade and went on to graduate from Sioux Center High School in 1966. After graduating he attended WestMar College in LeMars, IA earning a degree in Industrial Arts and Education. Shortly after graduation he was drafted into the Army and served one tour guarding Persian Missiles in Germany. His first teaching job was in Shelby, IA. While teaching in Shelby he met his future wife, Julie Ortgies, and they were married on August 2, 1974. Shortly after, they moved to Adair, IA where they welcomed two boys, Eric and Paul. After 4 years in Adair, David was ready to return to the family farm, so he and Julie moved back to Ireton and into his childhood home where they welcomed their third and final child, Laura. David farmed and raised feeder pigs and spent the off-season in the woodshop. After 20 years on the farm David and Julie moved to Ryan, IA where he worked as a trim carpenter until retirement.
David loved the Lord and wanted others to know Him, too. He also loved working with wood. He could turn a lump of wood into a work of art. When he wasn’t busy trimming a house, he was in his shop turning a log into a bowl or scrap wood into a beautiful pen. He and Julie traveled to art shows and craft fairs so he could share his art with others. When his collection grew and his kids suggested he open an online store, he said “no, I want to talk to my customers.” He was a member of The Stone Church in Manchester where he attended with Julie when his health allowed. When his job and hobbies weren’t keeping him busy, he enjoyed taking care of their property on the edge of Ryan and spending time with his children and their families.
He is survived by his wife, Julie and their three children, Eric Raak (Kristy Shwan), Paul Raak (Amber), Laura Van Loh (Dan), and 5 grandchildren, Megan Galvin, Jackson Van Loh, Gregory, Isabelle and Isaac Raak, and 2 step-grandchildren, his sisters Marlene Raak, Lora Haug (Roger), Sandra Langstrat (Roger), Rachel Gunderson (Lynn), brother-in-law Richard Ortgies, sister-in-law Ruth Engelken and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Dennis and Eunice Raak, his mother- and father in-law Alvin and Laura (Caspers) Ortgies and his brother-in-law John Ortgies and a nephew Phillip Ortgies.