Henry Marvin Julius Sonksen, age 94, of Carroll passed away on Sunday, October 27, 2013, at Taylor House Hospice in Des Moines.

Funeral service will be held at 10:30 A.M. on Wednesday, October 30, 2013, at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Carroll with Pastor Brian Licht officiating. Friends may call after 5:00 P.M. on Tuesday at the Dahn and Woodhouse Funeral Home in Carroll where there will be a prayer service held at 7:00 P.M. The casket will be moved to the church at 8:30 A.M. on Wednesday where visitation will resume until the time of service. Organist for the service will be Jan Hoff and the congregation will sing "How Great Thou Art" and "I'm But A Stranger Here." Casket bearers will be Mike Fara, Alan Fara, Anthony Leo, David Nissen, Russ Stribe, Karl Albertsen, Larry Muhlbauer, and Gene Muhlbauer. Honorary casket bearers will be Dwight Fiscus, Dale Quandt, Elmer Wiederin, Vern Langbein, Earl Singsank, LeRoy Albertsen, and Mark Gray. Burial will be in the Manning Cemetery. Memorials may be made to St. Paul Lutheran Church and can be left at the funeral home or the church.

Born on January 20, 1919, on his family's farm near Audubon, Iowa, he was the son of Boyd and Wihelmine (Asmus) Sonksen. Henry was baptized in 1919 at Trinity Lutheran Church north of Audubon (now located at the Manning Heritage Park) and was confirmed in the same church in 1933. He grew up in Audubon County and graduated from Gray High School in 1936. He was married to Ella Musfeldt on January 4, 1940, at Zion Lutheran Church in Manning. He was a farmer in the Manning area and after retiring he and Ella moved to Carroll. While living in their home in Carroll he maintained a garden and cared for lots of flowers. Henry had been a resident of the Carroll Health Center since 2006 and most recently became a resident of Taylor House Hospice in Des Moines in October of 2013. He was a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Carroll. Henry was a true farmer at heart and loved to share stories of how farming had changed over the years. He was an athlete in high school having played in the catcher position on the Gray High School baseball team. He continued his love of baseball by listening to games on the radio. Henry enjoyed demonstrating how to swing the bat when the Carroll Kuemper baseball coaches came to talk to residents at the Carroll Health Center. He also loved playing euchre, going for golf cart rides, having his coffee and cookies in the afternoon, root beer floats, playing bingo, attending 'country school', and taking part in the many activities provided at the Health Center. Henry was very proud of his German heritage. He and Ella made two trips to Germany. He was a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Carroll.

Henry is survived by his daughter Marilyn D. Lohmeier of Des Moines; two granddaughters Nancy Allison and her husband Jeff of Stillwell, Kansas and Lori Leo and her husband Giovanni of Des Moines; six great grandchildren: Sara and Jenifer Allison, Anthony, Andriano, Alessandra, and Annamaria Leo; and many other relatives and friends. Henry was preceded in death by his wife Ella on October 19, 2009, his parents, sisters Christina Albertsen and Leona Deist, a brother Dethlef Sonksen, and a son-in-law Willis Lohmeier.