John Sommer

John was born in Shelby County, Iowa, on January 20, 1940, to John Diaz and Lillian Ruby (Kroger) Diaz. They lived in Audubon, Iowa. His grandparents, Thomas C. and Ella Kroger, helped raise him for a while after his parents divorced. When he was 9 years old, his father passed away. After that, he lived for a few years at the Lutheran Children's Home in Waverly, Iowa, until he was taken into foster care by Walter E. and Kathleen M. Sommer, of Tripoli, Iowa. He graduated from Tripoli High School. On October 1, 1960, he married Margaret Irene Hansen. With this union, they had three children. In June of 1969, John and his wife and children were legally adopted by Walter E and Kathleen Sommer. At that point, his legal name was changed from John Diaz, Jr. to John Walter Sommer. At a later time, John married Judy Remington. They resided in Janesville, IA. John worked in various places in Iowa during his lifetime. He had a year-long apprenticeship under a gunsmith and stockmaker in Waterloo, Iowa, and then went into business for himself. He also worked in road construction and for various companies such as Maytag, Berry Tool & Die, Olsen Boat House, Hyster, Doerfer Engineer...[more]

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, the Waverly Police Department, and retired from John Deere Waterloo Operations on July 31, 2001, after 26 years of service. Some of his hobbies included hunting, fishing, and riding or working on motorcycles or sports cars. He always liked working on projects at home or in his garage. John passed away at his home on March 24, 2026, at the age of 86 and was preceded in death by his parents and grandparents, his wife Margaret Hansen, sister Carolyn (Diaz-Nollen) Kite, step-daughter Chris Remington, and great-granddaughter Rose Annalee Hall. John is survived by his wife Judy Sommer, his daughters Ella (Lawrence) Hall of Granger, IA, Sheila (Rob) Judas of Tripoli, IA, and Irene (David) Batchelder of Elizabethton, TN, and stepdaughter Shannon (Rich) Rupert, Heuvelton, NY. He is also survived by 8 grandchildren, Rachel Hall, Daniel Hall, Steven Clemen, Garret Clemen, Kellie Judas, Jonathan Hall, Nathan Batchelder, and Caleb Batchelder; 6 step-grandchildren, Josh Remington, Courtney Remington, Dalton Hersey, Kabra Sankey, Cory Sankey, and Brooklyn Lancaster. He is survived by one great-grandson, Payton Clemen. The family will hold a private service at a future date.