Lester L. Baskerville

Lester “Les” L. Baskerville, 75, of rural Kellogg, died Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020, at his home. A memorial service will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 31 at the Wallace Family Funeral Home and Crematory. The service will also be streamed live on the funeral home Facebook page. The family will greet friends from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30 at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorials to Spenser’s Underground Ministries may be left at the funeral home during the services (spensersunderground.org) or sent to P.O. Box 361, Spirit Lake, IA 51360.

Les, the son of LuVern Lester and Beulah Darlene (Krohn) Baskerville, was born Feb. 13, 1945, in Lake City. He grew up in Lytton and graduated from Lytton High School. In 1963, Les was united in marriage with Patricia Nordin. They made their home in Manson. While living in Manson, Les worked for the Moline Brothers Turkey Farm and also was an EMT, member of the Jaycees, served on the Calhoun County Fair Board, was a Calhoun Special Deputy and was a part of Civil Service Defense. Les was later united in marriage with Virginia Boersma Sept. 25, 1982, in Manson. They moved to Sheldon, where Les was a member of the Sheldon Saddle Club. In 1987, they made their home in the Newton area.  Les worked for the Newton schools as the head night custodian for 20 years, retiring in 2009. He was also a member of the Iowa Horse Industry Council, served as treasurer for the Palomino Horse Breeders Heritage Foundation and was past president of the Iowa Palomino Exhibitors Association. Throughout his entire life he also farmed. In addition to his love for Palomino horses, he also enjoyed fishing, Jack Russell Terriers and family history.

Les is survived by his wife, Ginny Baskerville of Kellogg; children, Steven (Sandy) Baskerville of Spirit Lake; Tim Baskerville of Sioux Falls, S.D., Gina Johnson (Wayne Morris) of Osceola and Lester M. “Marty” (Tania) Baskerville of Kellogg; his special sons, Keith (Kalie) Braden of Kellogg and Will Mortenson of Kansas City, Mo.; grandchildren, Lucas (Laura) Booher, Stephanie (Brad) Clark, Samuel Baskerville, Sawyer Baskerville, Ashley (Grant) Henry, Zachary (Nicole) Johnson and Braden Baskerville; his great-grandchildren, Colt Henry, Steven Booher, Everly Johnson, Nolan Johnson, Daniel Booher and Boone Clark; his sister, Marlene (Ken) Shadle; sister-in-love, Linda Baskerville; two brothers, Bruce (Pam) Baskerville and James (Deb) Baskerville; and his many aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins. He was preceded in death by his parents; parents-in-law, Herman “Hoppy” and Edna Boersma; grandson, Spenser Baskerville; and brother, Warren Baskerville.