Gary Roger Williams

Gary Williams, 87, of Le Mars, Iowa, passed away on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, at Avera McKennan Medical Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Celebration of Life Service will be at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 27, 2026, at Mauer-Johnson Funeral Home in Le Mars. Burial will be at a later date at Liberty Perry Township Cemetery, rural Hinton, Iowa. Visitation with the family present will be from noon until service time on Saturday at the funeral home. Arrangements are with the Mauer-Johnson Funeral Home in Le Mars. Expressions of sympathy can be extended to the family through www.mauerjohnsonfh.com.

Gary Roger Williams was born on August 18, 1938, in Sioux City, Iowa, the son of Earl Charles and Laura Emeline (Smith) Williams. He was one of eight boys and 2 girls. He grew up on a farm west of Hinton, Iowa. He attended school in Hinton and graduated from Hinton High School in 1957.

He began working at Beaulieu Station and as a school bus driver while he was still in high school. He farmed throughout his life, beginning with his parents’ farm. He farmed in the Hinton area, then Westfield, IA, and finally settled west of Merrill. He worked at Swift Packing Company in Sioux City from 1958 to 1969. He then worked briefly for Nutrena Feeds. He began operating a bulldozer in 1964. He had a natural talent of “eyeballing” in terraces. During the farm crisis in 1979, he traveled to Montana to work in oil fields for a few years before returning back to Iowa.

Gary married Joyce F. Nuzum twice on September 25, 1965. First, at the Hinton United Methodist Church and then at James Township (wrong county for marriage license). They made their home near Merrill, Iowa for many years. In 2021, they moved to Le Mars.

Gary was a member of Glad Tidings Lighthouse in South Sioux City, Nebraska. He always helped others and called himself a “jack of all trades and a master of none.” He did what he could with what he had. His greatest achievement was his family. His grandchildren were the light of his life. He was a man of steel with a heart of gold. His second favorite past time was fishing – preferably with family.

Survivors include his wife, Joyce; a son, Matthew (Patti) Williams and their children, Laura (Joe) Hauptmann and Monique Williams (Tom Hicks); a daughter, Sue (Ryan) Bergman and their children, Garrett Waterbury, Alex (Amber) Waterbury, Jacob (Kayla) Bergman, Brady (Savannah) Bergman, Cameron (Katana) Bergman, Trenton Bergman, and Peyton Ann Bergman; great grandchildren: Nevaeh, Ryleigh, Noah, Aaron, Adriana, Harper, Audra, Danielle, Madeline, Phoenix, and Milo; a brother, Paul Williams; and numerous special nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his siblings: John Williams, Lester Williams, Howard Williams, Jean Woodruff, Doris Williams, Daryl Williams, Melvin Williams, Richard Williams, and a sister in infancy; a great granddaughter, Talia Bergman.