John Dale Culbertson Obituary
John D. Culbertson, age 96, of Waverly died on Tuesday, September 2, 2025, at Bartels Lutheran Retirement Community in Waverly of natural causes.
John was born September 15, 1928, in Waverly, the son of Floyd and Merle (Getts) Culbertson. He graduated from Waverly High School in 1946; UNI in 1950; and Drake Law School in 1954. On June 11, 1951, John and Donna M. Harden were married at Trinity Lutheran Church in Waterloo. Donna passed away in 1987, and on October 22, 1988, John and Myrna Joy Kluiter were married at St. John Lutheran Church in Charles City.
He taught at Gladbrook High School in 1950-51; worked at Chamberlain in Waterloo as an engineer from 1951-52; was a legal technician for Lockheed Aircraft Corp in Burbank, California in 1955. Upon returning to Iowa later in 1955, he practiced law in Marshalltown until 1958 when he and his family moved to Charles City. From 1958-1994 he was employed by the Oliver Tractor Company (and its successors) as attorney and human resources manager. Following the closure of the company, Culbertson authored two popular books, The Tractor Builders and Postscripts, which highlighted the people who worked at the tractor plant. He was also a staff writer for the Hart/Parr Oliver Collector Magazine.
In 2013 John and Myrna moved to Eisenach Village, an independent retirement community in Waverly. Beginning in 2015 and for many years thereafter, John’s memoirs were printed in the Waverly Newspaper as a featured weekly column entitled Along the Way.
John is survived by his wife, Myrna; one son, Steve (Vanni) Culbertson of Robertsville, Missouri, and one daughter, Judy Culbertson of Mason City; nephew and niece, Kevin and Ann Uriell; and great-nephew, Jack Uriell. He was preceded in death by his parents; his first wife, Donna; infant son, Mark, and his sister and brother-in-law, Bonnie and Jack Uriell.
All obituary information has been taken from the funeral home, newspaper or other online resource.
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