Thomas Vonname
Attended Manning Schools with the class of 1967.
Son of Clarence and Caroline (Irlmeier) Vonnahme.


Taken from the memoirs of Clara Kasperbauer:
Our young neighbor, Tommy Vonnahme, age 19, son of Clarence and Caroline Vonnahme was drafted into the Army on April 30, 1968.
Tommy had always seemed like a younger brother to our children. When he was drafted, it almost seemed like we had 5 sons in the Viet Nam War.

Army Sp/4, Tommy Vonnahme, received the Purple Heart for wounds received on February 20, 1969, while on patrol duty in Pleiku, Viet Nam. He was thrown, from an open truck by some type of explosive. He suffered severe head injuries and was flown to the Fitzsimmons Army Hospital in Denver, where he spent many months recuperating.


Thomas Vonnahme

Thomas Francis Vonnahme was born September 12, 1948, at Carroll, Iowa, a son of Clarence and Caroline (Irlmeier) Vonnahme. He died at Salem Lutheran Home in Elk Horn, Iowa, Tuesday, February 7, 2017, at age 68.

Mass of Christian Burial was held Tuesday, February 14, 2017, at St. Ann Catholic Church in Vail, Iowa. Father Paul Kelly, Monsignor Tom Melvin and Father John Gerald served as celebrants of the Mass with interment at St. Ann Catholic Cemetery in Vail. Organist Irene Fielmeier provided accompaniment for the St. Ann Family Choir. Maria Weeda and Katherine Overstreet served as lectors. Angela Schulte and Katelyn Schulte served as altar servers. Greg and Beth Holdener and family served as gift bearers. Steve Riesselman and Dan Lally served as Eucharist ministers.

Military honors were members of the Arcadia Legion Post 694 of Arcadia, Iowa, and the VFW Post 3517 of Manning, Iowa.

Serving as honorary casket bearers were Nancy Wittrock, Laurie Berger, Greg Holdener, Joe Overstreet, Matt Weeda and Lynn Phillips. Casket bearers were Ryan Ranniger, Michael Ranniger, Dave Vonnahme, Don Vonnahme, Mike Vonnahme, Nick Berger, and Scott Vonnahme.

Monday's services included a rosary led by Nancy Wittrock and a prayer service at 7 p.m. led by Father Tim Boekelman. Huebner Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.

He attended Ewoldt No. 3 country school and then completed the eighth grade at Manning town school. Tom farmed with his father and then he was drafted into the Army in 1968, serving his country in Vietnam working as a helicopter repairman until he was wounded in 1969. Tom was awarded the Purple Heart, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Aircraft Crewman Badge, and Marksman Badge.

After returning home from the service, Tom completed high school and subsequently attended Iowa Western Community College.

On June 17, 1988, Tom married Maureen Wenzel Ranniger at St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Carroll. A year later, Maria was born joining her older siblings: Ryan, Beth, Michael and Katie.

Tom was a member of St. Ann Catholic Church and the church choir in Vail. He also was a member of the Arcadia American Legion and Manning VFW. He was a 4-H leader in Crawford County for 20 years and a CYO leader from 1993-2008 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Manilla. Tom enjoyed bowling and was active in leagues at Manilla Bowl and Lucky Lanes in Denison.

He enjoyed riding horses while at Fitzsimons General Hospital in Denver, Colorado, as part of his physical therapy while recovering from head wounds suffered in Vietnam. After returning home, he bought a farm to raise grain and livestock. His other interests and hobbies included: attending rodeos, traveling, fishing, hunting, and camping at Yellowsmoke and Prairie Rose State Park near Irwin, going to Denison and Dunlap sale barns, playing billiards, working on machinery and tractors, doing carpentry work and taking part in harvesting. He enjoyed watching John Wayne, war films and "M*A*S*H." He was a very social person and especially enjoyed being with family and relatives.

Tom is survived by his wife, Maureen; his children: Maria and husband, Matt; Ryan; Beth and her husband, Greg; Michael and his wife, Katherine; and Katie and her husband, Joe; three grandchildren; his siblings: Dave and his wife, Jan; Don and his wife, Teresa; Nancy and her husband, Darrell; Laurie and her husband, Mel; and Mike; mother-in-law, Lois; many nieces, nephews, cousins, relatives and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his father-in-law, Leon; and two nephews, John and Steve.