In Memory of Ross Thevenot

Ross A. Thevenot, age 84, of Arthur, Iowa, passed away on Monday, March 28, 2017, at the Twilight Acres of Wall Lake, Iowa.

A Funeral Service will be held at 7:00 p.m., Sunday, April 2, 2017 at the Christensen – Van Houten Funeral Home of Ida Grove, Iowa. The Pastor Ken Miller will officiate. A private family graveside services held on Monday, April 3, 2017 in the Odebolt Cemetery of Odebolt, Iowa. A visitation will be held two hours prior to the service from 5:00 p.m.to 7:00 p.m., Sunday, April 2, 2017 at the Christensen – Van Houten Funeral Home Ida Grove, Iowa. The Christensen - Van Houten Funeral Home of Ida Grove, Iowa is in charge of the funeral arrangements. Condolences may be sent online to www.christensenvanhouten.com

Ross A. Thevenot, the son of Jesse and Grace (Lincoln) Thevenot was born on the farm North of Arthur, Iowa, on December 19, 1932. The second youngest of six children, he was raised on the farm and graduated Valedictorian from Arthur High School with the class of 1951.

Ross went on to further his education at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa before being drafted into the United States Army. After completing eight weeks of basic training, he returned on leave to marry his high school sweet heart Shirley Ann Kluver on December 22, 1953 in the United Methodist Church of Arthur, Iowa.

They were stationed in the state of Washington for two years where he was awarded an expert rifleman medal. After being honorably discharged from the Army, they remained in Washington where he worked for a year for General Electric as a lab assistant.  They moved back to Iowa and Ross enrolled at Iowa State University where he earned his B.S. in Physics, graduating with the class of 1958. Ross and his family moved to Pomona, California, where Ross was employed at General Dynamics for 10 years. In September 1960, the family suffered a tragic loss when traveling home from vacation. They were involved in an automobile accident which claimed the life of Shirley and caused harm to Ross and his two sons Mathew and Paul. In 1969, Ross left his job in California and moved back to Arthur, Iowa to raise his sons.

A brilliant engineer, Ross enjoyed reading, creating devices based on his electrical engineering knowledge. He also loved solving and working on mathematical problems and playing chess. In his younger years, he loved tending to his vegetable garden and his grape vines that stretched across his home’s back yard.

He was preceded in death by his parents, wife Shirley Thevenot; infant daughter Mary Thevenot; brother Chester Thevenot; sisters Mildred Noll and Margie Lippincot

Left to cherish his memory are his sons Mathew (Laurie) Thevenot of Plano, TX and Paul Thevenot of Des Moines, Iowa; grandchildren Nathan Wittenstein and Lucas Thevenot; great grandchild Harrison Wittenstein; sisters Jane Howard of Sioux City, IA and Violet Wunschel of Lake View, IA; and extended family and friends.