MARK KIMZEY

Owner/Funeral Director

Mark is a native of New Virginia, Iowa where he granduated from the Interstate 35 Community High School in 1980. He was conferred with a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Iowa Wesleyan College in Mt. Pleasant in 1984, and a diploma from the Worsham College of Mortuary Science in Chicago in 1985. Mark began his career as a funeral director with the Meyer Brothers Funeral homes in Sioux City. In 1991, he bcae the manager of the Fullerton Hage Funeral Home in Charles City. He purchased the Weir Funeral Home from Tom Weir in 2001. Mark is a member of the First United Methodist Church where he is the Chancel Choir Director. He serves other churches in the area as a substitute organist. He is a member of the Mt. Pleasant Rotary Club and Mt. Pleasant Lodge #8 AF & AM. Mark is a former amateur boxer and now serves as a boxing official and as Secretary-Treasurer for Iowa Amateur Boxing.

He is married to Linda Ann (Begalske) Kimzey, who is a Medical Technologist for Family Medicine of Mt. Pleasant. The couple has 2 children - Rebekah, the Assistant Athletic Trainer at Simpson College of Indianola and Aaron, a recent graduate of Monmouth College, Monmouth, IL, with a BA in Classics. Aaron was also the Pipe Sergeant of the Monmouth College Fighting Scots Bagpipe band..

VERN DOROTHY

Funeral Associate

Vern has been started as a funeral associate at Weir Funeral Home in the 1990's and has continued on with the Kimzey Funeral Home since its change in ownership in 2001. Vern lived on a small farm in Van Buren County for 38 years while working for Dexter Company, a manufacuter of commercial washers and dryers in fairfield for 45 years. An Army Veteran of WW II, Vern retired and moved to Mt. Pleasant in 1988. Vern is a member of Calvary Baptist Church where he has served several terms as a Deacon of the church.

In addition to his responsibilities of assisting on funerals, Vern often makes the out of town trips for the funeral home. Because of Mark's inability to repair anything, Vern also has done numerous "handyman" jobs at the funeral home.

Vern is married to Carolyn (Smith) Dorothy, who also works at the funeral home. He has 2 children, 4 grandchildren and several great grandchildren.

RICHARD A. TOLANDER (in Memoriam)

Funeral Associate

Kimzey Funeral home is saddened to announce the death of Richard Tolander. Richard died on his birthday, July 12, 2022 at the age of 93. Richard had served as a Funeral Associate at Kimzey Funeral Home since 2001. Prior to that, he worked in the same capacity for the Weir Funeral Home. A lifelong Henry County resident, Richard attended school at Olds, New London and Yarmouth. He served in the US Army during the Korean War. Richard had been a trucker, a co-op fuel deliverer and owned and operated a corn shelling business. He retired from those professions and became a bus driver for the Mt. Pleasant Community School District. Married to Marilyn (Wolin) Tolander since 1954, Richard was widowed a number of years ago when Marilyn passed away, Richard was a member of the First United Methodist Church of Mt. Pleasant where he often served as an usher. He was also a member of the Olds American Legion. He is survived by 3 sons and numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren.

DORIS PRICE

Funeral Associate

Doris (Griffith) Price was raised in the Welsh community near Crawfordsville. She has lived in Mt. Pleasant since 1964. Doris tends to visitations and works funerals for Kimzey Funeral Home as she did for the Weir Funeral Home. For many years, Doris was the manager of the Activities Concession Stands for the Mt. Pleasant communtiy School District. She continues to organize and schedule the "free" entertainment groups the sing and play at the Midwest Old Threshers Reunion in Mt. Pleasant. She is a member of the Calvary Baptist Church of Mt. Pleasant.

Married to Larry Price, they have 3 children: Lorna, Lisa and David and 4 grandchildren.

CAROLYN DOROTHY

Visitation Hostess

Carolyn (Smith) Dorothy is a native of Birmingham, Iowa. She has been a receptionist at the First Presbyterian Church of Fairfield and a Fairfield Optometrist. For several years, Carolyn was the volunteer coordinator for Hospice of Central Iowa. She started at Weir Funeral Home as a Visitation Hostess and has continued in the capacity with Kimzey Funeral Home. Carolyn is renowned for her cooking skills, and has baked and decorated numerous wedding cakes. She is a member of Calvary Baptist Church of Mt. Pleasant. Married to Vern Dorothy for 65+ years, she has 2 children, 4 grandchildren and several great grand children.

GARY SAMMONS (In Memoriam)

Funeral Associate

With great sadness, we must let everyone know that Gary died on August 15, 2015 while vacationing in the Lake of the Ozakrs of a heart attack. Gary was an electrician for Mt. Pleasant Electric. With his full job, Gary helped out at the funeral home when he could, usually on the weekends. Married to Judy (Scott) Sammons (a RN at Henry County Health Center), they have two children, Julie and Scott, and 1 grandchild. Gary was a member of St. Alphonsus Catholic Church where he served in several capacities. He was a member of the Fr. John Manning Council of the Knights of Columbus. An avid Iowa Hawkeye fan, Gary attended nearly every Hawkeye home football game. He served on the MPCSD Athletic Booster Association. For several years, he was the videographer for the MPCSD Panther Football team. Gary was a delight to work with. We miss him dearly.

JANET CERMAK

Funeral Associate

Janet is a retire teacher of Spanish from the Mt. Pleasant Community High School. She is a grandmother of 3 and a member of First Presbyterian Church.

NADINE MARTIN

Funeral Associate

Nadine Martin is one of the visitation hostesses for Kimzey Funeral Home. She retired from Access Energy. She also helped her husband, Merritt, in his business, Martin Yard Art until his death in 2013. Nadine is a member of First United Methodist Church where she sings in the Chancel Choir and serves on the Worship Committee. She has two children and 3 grandchildren.

ROBERT GRIFFITH

Funeral Associate

Originally from Des Moines, Bob first came to Mt. Pleasant to become one of the patrol officers for the Mt. Pleasant Police Dept. Bob came to work for the funeral home in the spring of 2017. His job with Young House Family Services allows Bob to be available for funerals during the day. He has served on the Mt. Pleasant City Council and currently serves on the Mt. Pleasant Board of Adjustment. He is a member of Faith Christian Outreach Church. Bob is widowed, as his wife Paula died in August of 2016.

JUDY SAMMONS

Funeral Associate

Judy started with the funeral home in 2016 after she retired from her position as a Registered Nurse in the Surgical Department of the Henry County Health Center. Her husband Gary was an associate of the funeral home until his unexpected death in 2015. Judy has 2 children - Julie and Scott (3 if you include her dog Brutus!) and 3 grandchildren. Judy is a member of St. Alphonsus Catholic Church where she serves as a Eucharistic Minister and in several other capacities for the church. An avid Iowa Hawkeye fan, Judy often attends the Hawkeye football games in Iowa City.

AARON KIMZEY

Funeral Associate/Tech Advisor/Bagpiper

Aaron is Mark and Linda's son. He is a junior at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois, where he majors in History and is a member of the Monmouth College Pipe Band. Yes, a bagpiper, Aaron plays with Monmouth, the Drouthy Ducks Pipe Band in Fairfield and has further studied with the Iowa Scottish Pipes and Drums in Des Moines. Aaron roots for the Iowa Hawkeyes, the St. Louis Cardinals (against the wishes of his die-hard Cub fan father!) and the Iowa Wild - an American Hockey League Team. Aaron also serves as the tech advisor to his father on all things electronic - the computer, the cell phone - you name it!

MARGI MOUNTZ

Funeral Associate