Funeral service for Max Strube was held at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 8 at Grace Church in Emmetsburg. The Rev. Curtis DeFord officiated. Inurnment was at East Side Memorial Cemetery in Estherville.
Max Stewart Strube was born on Sept. 24, 1954, in Estherville, IA, to Robert Strube and Colleen Blum Strube. Max died at home on July 4, 2023 at the age of 68, surrounded by his family after a courageous two and a half year battle with cancer.
Max was baptized in the Terrill United Methodist Church. He was raised on a shared acreage with his aunt, uncle, and his cousins Clint Blum and Gail Blum Bockman, where he made many cherished memories. Given his rural community roots, Max loved helping neighboring farmers as he was growing up. Max attended school in the Terril Community School District, where he wrestled, played baseball, and was a standout “Terril Tiger” football player.
Max graduated high school in 1972 and then attended Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, IA, where he met Sue, the love of his life. Max was a gifted athlete, playing football for BVU where he was tri-captain and earned MVP honors his senior year. Max graduated with a business degree in 1976.
He married Susan Whitehouse on August 6, 1977, in the Estherville Presbyterian Church. They made their home on an acreage outside Fenton; Max was working for Hjelmeland Builders as Susan began her teaching career at Sentral of Fenton. They moved to Emmetsburg in 1979 where they made their home for 44 years and raised their three boys. Zachary Max, Andrew Robert, and Taylor James were his greatest joy (until his grandchildren arrived). Max and Sue delighted in attending the boys’ sporting and music events and other activities.
Max was employed by Farm Bureau Insurance as a Sales Agent and Agency Manager from 1978 to 1998. He worked three years for Brenton Investments, and most recently at Central Financial as a Securities Representative since 2001, retiring in 2023.
Max was an avid outdoorsman since childhood, hunting and fishing with his father and best friend Bob. His love for bowhunting whitetail deer peaked with annual November hunting trips to Northeast Iowa or Sand Creek Wildlife Area in Southwest Iowa. Walleye fishing became his most recent passion, spending countless hours on “R boat” at various lakes around the region, with coveted trips to Chamberlain, SD, and flying into Upper Goose Lake in Canada. Other hobbies included golf, playing cards, and helping farmers with harvest in the fall, his favorite time of year.
Left to carry on his legacy are his wife Susan of 46 years, and his three sons and their families: Zach (Kellie) and sons Tanner Max and Dexter James of Overland Park, KS; Drew (Jaci) and son Major Hudson of Waukee, IA; and Taylor (Elsey) and daughters Steele Grace and Celia Maxine of West Des Moines. Also left to honor his life are two sisters Roxanne (Paul) Strube Peterson of Steilacoom, WA; and Roseanne Strube Hoppe of Clear Lake, SD; Max’s stepbrother Brett (Cyndi) Zieman of Rockwall, TX; and his stepsister Teri (Ian) Brandt of Des Moines. Max is also survived by his stepmother Linda (Richard) Strube Page of Waukee; and mothers-in-law Hermina Amoroso of New Hampton, IA, and Georgia Whitehouse of Estherville.
Max was preceded in death by his parents, Bob and Colleen Strube; his father-in-law, Jim Whitehouse; and nephew, Hunter James Brandt.
Memorials may be directed to the Iowa Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation – Major’s Army (see link via on-line obituary) and/or the Iowa Great Lakes Fishing Club.
Checks to the Iowa Great Lakes Fishing Club can be sent to Treasurer Dean Jacobsen at 705 Grand Ave. Spencer, IA 51301.
Arrangements by Martin-Mattice Funeral Home.
Condolences can be left at
www.martinmattice
funeralhome.com
