William Thies Jr.

William J. Thies Bill, 80, of Ames, passed away on Friday, February 26, 2010 at Mary Greeley Medical Center in Ames, Iowa, surrounded by his family and loved ones. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, June 19, 2010 at 10:30 AM in the Furness Funeral Home Chapel at Clark with burial with full military honors in the Rose Hill Cemetery at Clark. William J. Thies was born on August 24, 1929 in Clark, South Dakota to William G. and Marie (Benter) Thies. He married Joyce Mitchell on June 24, 1951. To this union were born four daughters, Charla, Holly, Melody, and Tobi. He served in the US Army during the Korean War. He was a member of Bethesda Lutheran Church and the American Legion Post 37. Throughout his career, he farmed, assisted his father in construction, was employed by Transit Homes and retired from Cyride. He enjoyed fishing, traveling, and cooking. Bill is survived by his daughters, Charla (Ken) Schenck of Sacramento, CA, Holly (Mark) Anderson of Dublin, CA, and their daughter, Tomel Cooper, Melody (Peter) Olsson Bierhuis of Danville, CA, and their children, Lauren and Chanel Olsson and Sylvia and Alex Bierhuis, and Tobi Thies of Patterson, IA; former wife, Joyce Thies of Ames; two sisters, Martha Mitchell of Clark, SD, and Dorothy (Jim) Linderer of Watertown, SD; and sister-in-law Barbara Thies of Nampa, Idaho He was preceded in death by his parents; and brother, Lloyd Thies; brother in-law Arthur Mitchell; son in-law Michael Olsson. In lieu of flowers Memorials may be sent to the Ames American Legion Post #37, 225 Main St. Ames, Iowa 50010 Local arrangements are announced by the Furness Funeral Home of Clark where there is an on-line registry at www.furnessfuneralhome.com