Terence "Terry" Perleth
April 24, 2016Share using:
Terence (Terry/”Clarence”) W. Perleth, 64, passed away at Mercy Hospital in Dubuque on Sunday, April 24, 2016, after a short illness.
Funeral services will be held at St. Joseph Key West Church on Thursday, April 28 at 4:30 p.m. with Rev. Michael Podhajsky officiating. A celebration of his life will take place from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 27, at Leonard Funeral Home & Crematory, 2595 Rockdale Road in Dubuque. Burial will be at a later date.
Terry was born February 3, 1952, in Dubuque, IA to William (Bill) and Dorothy Perleth. He grew up on a farm in St. Catherine’s, IA, where you could find him tending to the many farm animals, riding the tractor, or doing any activity that kept him out of the house or school. If you couldn’t find him…great, that was his intention.
Terry married Barb Thielen on October 10, 1980. The beards in their wedding photos would make the Duck Dynasty clan jealous. They spent married life enjoying time with family, snowmobiling, camping at Nita-Ho Valley, riding in their pontoon on the Mississippi River, and playing card games that he never wanted to play anyway. Terry worked at Dubuque Stamping & Manufacturing Company, and was scheduled to retire on May 27, 2016, after 30 years of challenging himself to find a different route to work each day in his red truck.
He missed his calling as an engineer. Terry could craft anything out of metal, even if there were no real need for his inventions. He was the life of any party. Terry had a real knack for feeding the juke boxes at all local watering holes, which inevitably led to “Twinkle Toes Terry” making an appearance. His infectious laugh was most often heard when he was surrounded by those he loved. Terry greatly enjoyed spending time loving and agitating his children, grandchildren…and pretty much anyone else he encountered.
Left to honor his legacy are his wife, Barb; his four children; Shelby (Joe) Schumacher, Meggan (Matt) Guns, Raena (Anthony) Peterson, and Logan (just Logan) Perleth; his grandchildren Leah, Reed, and Emmett Schumacher, Ashlyn and Eden Guns, and Isabelle Peterson; his brother Mike (Kim) Perleth; brother-in-law, Joe Bellings; in-laws Jan (Bob) Northouse, Karen (Jim) Giesemann, Lennie (Kathy) Thielen, Marilyn Michels, Luann “Bink” (Randy “Jake”) Helmle, Bev (Dan) O’Connor, Pat (Tom) Draus, and Ron (Lori “Fritz”) Thielen; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Terry was preceded in death by his parents; his in-laws, Harlan and Lois Thielen; his sister, Starla Bellings; brother-in-law, Lynn Michels; and his special little buddy, grandson Brody Schumacher.
The family would like to thank the Key West Fire Department, Dubuque County Sherriff’s Office/Dispatch, and the many wonderful and caring staff members at Mercy Hospital in Dubuque.
The family requests no flowers or plants, as Barb will most likely kill them anyway.
