Carl E. Gosmire, 68, of Cherokee passed away at his residence on Nov. 10, 1025.
Funeral services will be held on Friday, Nov. 14, at 10:30 a.m. at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Cherokee. Mr. Don Tisthammer will officiate. Burial will be in Oak Hill Cemetery at Cherokee. Visitation with the family present will take place beginning at 9:30 a.m. until service time. Boothby Funeral Home of Cherokee is assisting the family with arrangements.
Carl was born on May 11, 1957, in Fort Dodge. His parents were Ralph Gosmire, an instructor at Fort Dodge Junior College, and Phyllis (Peterson) Gosmire, an RN and former school nurse.
He grew up in Fort Dodge until 1968, when his father was killed in an automobile accident in Missouri while driving several students to a college conference. Upon his father’s death, Carl moved with his family to Cherokee to live with his grandfather Albert Peterson, who farmed near Larrabee and was chair of the Cherokee County Board of Supervisors.
Carl graduated from Washington High School in 1976 and Westmar College in Le Mars in 1980. At Westmar, he studied industrial arts and computer science. After graduating from Westmar, he lived in Sioux Center where he was employed by a family of chiropractors who operated several clinics in Iowa and South Dakota. While in their employment, he developed a commercial software system for assisting chiropractors in managing the business aspects of their practices.
In the mid-1980s, Carl returned to Cherokee to assist his mother, who was experiencing some health issues at the time. For several years, he was self-employed, repairing computers and providing technical assistance to area residents and businesses.
For many years, Carl served as an usher at Bethlehem Lutheran Church. He had a number of hobbies including woodworking, collecting and genealogical research. He was especially passionate about genealogy, devoting much of this time to tracing family trees and history. He was frequently seen conducting research at Cherokee Public Library and he often traveled to South Dakota to participate in Gosmire family reunions. For a time, he traveled throughout the Midwest to attend computer shows and swap meets. In 1982, he and his mother traveled to Sweden and Norway, a trip that provided him an opportunity to meet his Swedish cousins and visit the area in Sweden where his grandfather Albert Peterson was raised.
Carl was preceded in death by his parents, Ralph and Phyllis Gosmire.
He is survived by his sister RuthAnn (Gosmire) Royer of Ames and her husband Jeff; his nephew Chris Royer of Fukuoka, Japan, and wife Nami; and niece Caisa Royer of Salt Lake City, Utah. He is also survived by his grand-nieces, Sui and Natsuki Royer of Fukuoka, Japan.
