In Memory of Lesly G. Gehlsen

Lesly Gehlsen, age 83, of Odebolt, Iowa, passed away on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Odebolt Specialty Care of Odebolt, Iowa.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 1:00 p.m., on Saturday, April 13, 2024, at the Faith Bible Church, 601 W Main St., Sac City, IA.

The Christensen-Van Houten Funeral Home of Odebolt, Iowa, is assisting.  Condolences may be sent online at www.christensenvanhouten.com

Lesly (Les) George Gehlsen, born on February 22, 1941, passed away peacefully on March 22, 2024 at the age of 83 at Odebolt Specialty Care in Odebolt, IA. Les grew up on farms outside of Westside and North of Manning, Iowa. He helped farm from a young age, taking care of animals, working in the fields and on farm equipment, and doing whatever was needed to keep things running.

In 1959, his parents sold their farm and moved to Carroll, IA. In 1960/61 his dad bought a tiller and he and his dad traveled to small towns and made money tilling everyone’s gardens. He was proud to say they could clear $100 a day doing this (and noted his dad would chat with the local priest in town while he – Les - worked everyone’s gardens.)

In 1963, Les was drafted to the army. He said the first day they didn’t get any further than the old Tony’s restaurant in Carroll because their bus broke down (he said it was an “auspicious beginning”). A new bus came from Omaha and brought them to the city to be processed. He noted that he was “sworn in, sworn out 2-years later, and sworn at in-between!”

During his time in the army, he went to school to be a fireman – he didn’t learn how to put them out, but how to start them! He was in charge of keeping all the furnaces going on base in Leonard Wood, MO.

Later he went to radio school where he learned morse code, then he took a ship to Germany and spent a year or so there. He was proud of his shooting skills and competed with others while in Germany. (He was also a competitive shooter back in the states, winning many awards.) Finally, he was discharged in 1965, receiving a rank of 1 stripe, Private, First Class.

Les worked several jobs over the years, including working at Ocoma Foods in Carroll, the Carroll Daily Times Herald and at Al’s Gun Shop. He also worked on John Deer Tractors, sold Buick parts all over the world, and flipped houses for many years. He noted that he overhauled over 250 John Deer Tractors and taught himself how to work on the carburetors (according to Les, “carburetor” is French for “leave it alone.”) He was also proud to say he belonged to the Iowa and Minnesota Buick clubs and he and his wife, Eleanor, enjoyed going to meetings and even hosted a gathering at his farm to show off his Buick parts business.

He had many stories about the houses he and Eleanor worked on together (he always had a story for anyone who visited with him). This job gave him the most joy as it was something they could do together. He enjoyed being on Eleanor’s team and bragged about her painting skills and how she had the best ideas on what changes should be made to each house. In the end, there were 64 houses that they flipped and contracted out. Their goal was to provide houses people could afford, to folks who might not be able to own a home through normal renting- or mortgage-processes.

Les and Eleanor had plans to go to Florida before she passed with the goal to “have a heck of a time.” Of course, they were going to see if there was a house they could flip there too. But plans changed and she made it to heaven ahead of schedule. Over the years they had many adventures together, including taking road trips to LA, Wyoming, and to Pikes Peak. But in the end, the greatest adventure was being married to the love of his life and making the best of the good times and bad.

Les is survived by his daughters, Dawn Blanchard and Heather (Brad) Orcutt; grandchildren Melodie (Brad) Christie; Stephanie Beeber (Robert Woolard); Amanda (Nathaniel) Oak; Emily Gehlsen-Quail; Faith, Sarah, and Lucas Orcutt; five great-grandchildren; and Special Friend Sharon Irlbeck. Those who preceded Les in death were his parents William and Anna (Mundt) Gehlsen; wife Eleanor (Kohn) Gehlsen); brother Billy Gehlsen; and sisters LuEtta Mason and Marian Gehlsen.