William "Bill" Scherle

Former Congressman William Joseph Scherle, 80, of rural Henderson, IA passed away Wednesday, August 27th in Council Bluffs, IA. He is survived by his wife, Jane, of Henderson; sons Wm. D. Scherle and wife Joan of Des Moines and John Scherle and wife Janet of Henderson; sister Dorothy Kutzba of New York and brothers Al Scherle of Council Bluffs and Robert Scherle of Virginia; and six grandchildren, Rachel, Megan, Elizabeth, Mary Delaney, Rebecca and W.D.
Born in Little Falls, Herkimer County, N. Y., on March 14, 1923, he graduated from St. Mary's Academy and later attended Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX. He served in the United States Navy during WWII and was a member of the Naval Reserve from 1947 to 1954. While working in Texas he met his future bride, Dorothy Jane Goldapp,and the couple moved to Iowa in 1948 where they established a grain and livestock farming operation. He was appointed chairman of the Mills County Republican Central committee in 1956 and elected to the Iowa State House of Representatives in 1960, serving for three terms. He was later elected to Congress in 1966, serving in three succeeding Congresses from 1967 through 1975. In 1975 he was named deputy administrator in the United States Department of Agriculture by President Gerald Ford and later established a consulting firm in Washington, D.C. which he maintained from 1977 to 1987. He retired in 1988 and returned to the family farm in Iowa.
Burial will be in Arlington National Cemetery, Washington D.C. A memorial celebration will be held at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, September 3, 2003 at Lakeshore Country Club in Council Bluffs, IA. By family request, memorials rather than flowers can be sent to Jennie Edmundson Hospital Foundation or Micah House, both in Council Bluffs.