George Kadrmas
George Kadrmas
Traer
George Kadrmas was born December 6, 1930, on the Kadrmas family farm in southern Perry township in Tama county, the son of Joseph and Elsie Psota Kadrmas. He attended Perry # 6 rural school and Traer High School, graduating seventy-five years ago in May 1949. Joe Kadrmas bought a new Farmall H and a McCormick combine and George began farming with him. George and John Pulkrabek liked baling so much they baled small square bales for area farmers. George worked on sale day at the Traer Sales Company, and also worked part time at Farmers Lumber Company.
On October 1, 1955, George married Patricia Stevens at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church in Cedar Rapids. They moved into the house on the home farm and raised two children, Julie and George Jr. George had 40 stock cows, fed out the calves, farrowed four times a year and sold fat hogs. He even had 3,000 laying hens in the early and mid1960’s. Sheep were kept around to mow around the farm buildings. George worked part time for Montgomery Elevator company in the late 1960’s and helped with the installation of the escalators at Crossroads Mall in Waterloo. In 1970 he began work at Wilson Foods in Cedar Rapids as night scaler for cattle and sheep and continued until the company was sold to Farmstead. He then worked third shift as a security guard. After plant shut down in 1989, but he worked another year while the plant and contents were liquidated.
After two years just farming, George went to work at Meskwaki Casino in September of 1993 as a custodian. He joked that he worked for health insurance and the wages were a bonus. In 1998, George and Pat took a trip of a lifetime to the Czech Republic to visit Kadrmas relatives. Pat died suddenly of cancer in 2005. He continued to work at Meskwaki until December 2014. He said his hobby was farming. George collected Beam liquor decanters, built some play furniture for Julie and a toy box for his George. His cousin Frank Kriz taught him how to install oak flooring in upstairs bedrooms. George enjoyed trapping muskrats, hunting pheasants and rabbits, took pride in the upkeep of the farmstead and garden.
George was a member of St. Vaclav, Immaculate Conception and St. Paul Catholic churches. He lived his entire life in the same house on the Kadrmas farm until breaking a hip in May 2023 after which he was a resident of Sunrise Hill Care center where he died peacefully on August 13, 2024.
George was preceded in death by his wife Pat, a sister Joyce and his parents, Joe and Elsie Kadrmas.
He is survived by his son George Jr. of Traer, a daughter, Julie (Armin) Paff of Cedar Park, Texas and a grandson Matt Paff of Round Rock, Texas He also leaves a special friend Norma Barge Sturtz of LeGrand, a brother-in-law Lyle Gerdeman of Robbins, first cousins Evelyn Carlson, Martha Breja, Bill Pivonka and Joan Emanuel, along with several nieces and nephews.
A Mass of Christian Bural will be held Wednesday, August 21, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. at St. Paul Catholic Church in Traer with burial at St. Vaclav Cemetery near Clutier. A Rosary will begin at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 20, 2024, with Public Visitation following until 7 p.m. at St. Paul Catholic Church.
Memorials may be directed to the St. Wenceslaus Oratory.
Kruse-Phillips Funeral Home, Tama-Toledo, is assisting the family with arrangements.