Randall Duane Baier, aged 95 years, 7 months, and 24 days, passed away May 5, 2022, at Heritage House in Atlantic, Iowa.
Randall was the third son born to Goldie Arlene (Daughenbaugh) and Frederick Henry Baier. He was born on September 11, 1926, in a farmhouse southeast of Wiota, Iowa. Randall’s older brothers were George Mahlandt and Arnold Leroy. He had a younger sister Dorothy. Randall grew up in the Wiota area, doing farm work for the family and neighbors, playing high school basketball and baseball for Joe O’Connor, and being active in 4-H and church activities. In 1943, his senior year, the family moved to the Lyman area when Fred and Goldie bought a farm one mile north of Lyman. Randall graduated from Griswold High School in the spring of 1944. He worked that summer on a wheat harvesting crew in Montana and spent the fall harvesting corn on the family farm and for neighbors. He received his draft notice when he turned 18, but because he already had two brothers in military service and he was needed for harvest, he did not have to report for active duty until January 1945.
Randall received basic infantry training at Fort Hood, Texas and advanced infantry training at Camp Maxey, Texas. The training included both jungle and urban warfare elements. Upon completion of training, he was shipped out from Fort Lawton, Washington headed for Okinawa and that fall’s planned invasion of the Japanese home islands. After seven days at sea, they arrived at Pearl Harbor, and much to the surprise of everyone on board, instead of just refueling, they were allowed to leave the ship and were taken to Schofield Barracks. The next morning the troops were told that the Japanese emperor had asked for terms of surrender. By that afternoon, “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas” was playing from the loud speakers on the base. Nineteen years olds in Randall’s unit were reassigned to 98th Division to serve as part of the occupation army but Randall was still only 18 years old, so he was reassigned to a coastal anti-aircraft battery. In less than a week he was reassigned again, this time to an S-3 unit at battalion headquarters. This was because he had learned to type his senior year at Griswold High School. He received “army-style” office management training and worked his way up to the 57th Battalion’s sergeant major by the time he was honorably discharged in August of 1946.
Randall met Phyllis Pelzer at Griswold High School and they began dating and continued to date during furloughs from the army and following Randall’s discharge. They became engaged and were married on May 20, 1947. They started farming that spring on money Randall had earned picking over 5,000 bushels of corn by hand the previous fall. They started farming on rented land for “shares” and had snow on June 16th that summer on six-inch-tall corn. They continued to farm on rented land in the Lyman and Cumberland area until they purchased their “home place” in 1954. During this time, three sons, Arnold, Steve, and Kelly were born.
In 1959, additional land was purchased. Enough cows, sows, ponies, chickens, and milk cows were added to the farm to keep the boys out of trouble. In 1960, a daughter, Kristin, was added to complete the family.
Randall became active in civic activities during this time, eventually serving for several years as 4-H club leader for Pleasant-Noble United, P.T.A. president, swine superintendent for the Cass County Fair, and served seven years on the Griswold Community School Board. He served in various leadership rolls at Noble Center Church including Youth Fellowship leader, Sunday School teacher, and Sunday School Superintendent, and administrative board member. He was an “at large” delegate for the Iowa Conference of the United Methodist Church for many years, was a certified lay speaker providing pulpit supply in over 30 churches in southwest Iowa. In 1972, Randall became the business manager and school board secretary for Griswold Community Schools, putting that Army office management training to good use. He continued to farm while working full-time at the school for twenty years. Randall received several awards in recognition of his efforts in soil conservation having built some of the first terraces in Cass County using a John Deere 60 tractor and a model 100 terrace plow. He was also recognized for his leadership and support of 4-H and FFA programs, Outstanding Young Farmer award, WOW-TV Farm Family of the Week, and Outstanding Swine Producer by Walnut Grove. Randall actively farmed for fifty-one years, many of them with Steve. Some years, they picked and ground as much as 15,000 bushels of ear corn to feed cattle, in the process wearing out several John Deere model 400 grinders. In “retirement” Randall continued to help Steve and paid him back for all the machinery Steve broke as a kid.
Randall and Phyllis were active in Volunteers in Mission projects during their retirement renovating an orphanage school in Russia in 1995, building houses and a church in Mexico in 1996, 1997,1998, and 1999, and working at the UMCOR Depot in Baldwin, Louisiana in 2000. Randall also picked up the hobby of collecting and restoring John Deere tractors and equipment, as well as toys and memorabilia. He enjoyed displaying the items at the Deere Shop in Lyman.
Upon reaching his 80th birthday, Randall was motivated to write his memoirs and began a project he called “Four Score +”. He enjoyed the project and with the help of his daughter-in-law Shelly, published it. He gave talks on his experiences growing up in the Great Depression, his army experiences, and raising a family in the post-War years. In 2014, Randall and Phyllis moved from the farm that had been their home for 60 years to Brookridge Apartments in Atlantic.
Randall was the last of his generation of the Baier family, the last member of the Griswold class of ’44, and one of only a handful of World War II veterans remaining in Cass County. He is survived his wife Phyllis, who in his words in his book “Four Score +” was with him every step of the way. They were 15 days away from their seventy-fifth wedding anniversary at the time of his passing. He is also survived by his sons Steve (Barbara) Baier of rural Lyman, Kelly (Rochelle) Baier of Marian, Iowa, daughter Kristi Keast of Mount Vernon, Iowa, grandchildren, Jennifer (David) Holst of Clive, Fritz (Melisa) Baier of rural Lyman, Kathryn Beenken of Des Moines, Sam Baier of Philadephia, PA, Aaron Keast of Cedar Rapids, Eliza (David) Easker of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and Gabe Keast of Mount Vernon, along with twelve great-grandchildren.
Randall was preceded in death by parents Fred and Goldie Baier, his brothers Mahlandt Baier and Arnold Baier, his sister Dorothy Spiker, his son Arnold Baier, son-in-law Craig Keast, parents-in-law Lloyd and Ruby Pelzer, and brother-in-law Basil Pelzer.
Funeral services will be held on Monday, May 9, 2022, at 11:00 AM, at the Griswold United Methodist Church. Visitation with the family will be held on Sunday, May 8, 2022, from 5-7 PM, at the Griswold United Methodist Church. Interment will be in Noble Center Cemetery. Memorials may be donated to the Noble Initiative Foundation’s Childcare Project. Rieken Duhn Funeral Home in Griswold is assisting the family.
