Patrick Joseph Phelan

Patrick Joseph “Pat” Phelan, 84, peacefully departed this world Sunday, Aug. 8, 2021, at home on his family farm near Farrar, surrounded by his loving family and the songs, stories and scripture that were ever-present in his life. The firstborn of Martin and Mary (Rooney) Phelan’s seven children, Pat entered the world as a force of nature (a characteristic he never relinquished) Feb. 16, 1937, a proud descendent of one of the original Irish immigrant farm families who settled northeast Polk County in the 1800s.

Pat was a four-sport athlete at Mingo High who participated in FFA, band and chorus. He had a fun-loving but ornery nature and relished telling the story of how his dad approached the superintendent with a request for Pat to stay home to help on the farm during the fall harvest, to which the official replied, “Martin, I think that would be really good for Pat — and for the school!”

After graduation, Pat served honorably as a United States Marine and the Marine Corps code of Semper Fi —always faithful — informed his entire philosophy of life, whether as a husband, father, farmer, friend or parishioner. As much as he loved being a Marine, he was called home when his father passed away, returning to his true passion and vocation of farming and recruiting his younger brother, Mike, to join him as the other half of Phelan Brothers Farms, a venture that would last for nearly a half-century.

Pat married Janet Wilson of Prairie City in 1958, and they formed a lifetime partnership that not only produced four talented children who at an early age, out of necessity, became farmhands (or indentured servants, as was alternately asserted) but also successfully navigated the farm crisis and regained family land that had been lost in the depression. These challenges were met, in part, due to Pat taking on additional work at the ISU power plant and Janet working as a nurse at Lutheran Hospital. Pat was conservation-minded and a true steward of the land (before it was common), an inventor and innovator and a mentor and advisor to many young farmers.

Pat was a member of Holy Cross Church in Farrar, serving over the years in a range of roles from parish council to greeter to snow removal, handyman and general aide de camp to more than a dozen priests. His faith and philosophy were deeply rooted in the simple lessons of the Gospel (Judge not, lest ye be judged; All are welcome; Turn the other cheek and so on) and his contributions were such that he was awarded the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice cross, conferred to laypeople for distinguished service to the Church. A beloved and irreplaceable member of the parish community, Pat was famous for chatting up every new attendee, often welcoming them by presenting them with their own key to the church.

Pat was an Irish storyteller with an exceptionally quick wit and a propensity for epic one-liners and turns-of-phrase, who made friends and acquaintances effortlessly; his ebullient spirit and infectious laugh drew people to him and filled up every room he ever entered. He lived by the principle of “work hard, play hard,” and took great joy in family vacations, water skiing trips (during which he taught legions of nieces, nephews and kids’ friends to ski, while also testing their survival instincts) and riding snowmobiles and anything else with an engine.

Ultimately, the lessons inherent in Pat and Janet’s core values of faith, family and farming were passed on to their children, allowing them to excel in their own right as leaders, thinkers, doers, travelers, creators and caregivers. Pat lived a life that was both on his own terms and devoted to God; one of perpetual motion and yet inquisitive lifelong learning; of deep humility and yet innate confidence; and with immense pride in and commitment to, his extended family. For all of these reasons, Pat will be profoundly missed and yet forever present in the lives of those who knew and loved him.

Those left to honor his memory include his wife, Janet (Wilson) Phelan; son, Daniel (Adriana) Phelan; daughter, Laurie Phelan (Carla Cain); daughter, Franci Phelan (Randal Peters); and Teri Phelan-Ruden (Jeff Ruden); a sister, Sr. Ann Martin Phelan, OSF; brother William (Sara) Phelan; sisters-in-law, Mary Lee Phelan and Jana Phelan; eight granddaughters and two great-grandsons. Preceding Pat in death were his parents; brothers, John Phelan, Martin Phelan and Michael Phelan; a sister, Sr. Mary Ann Phelan, OSF; a granddaughter, Jerrica Hilleman-Ruden; and son-in-law, Jerry Hilleman.

Visitation will be from 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 10 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Elkhart. Funeral Mass will begin at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 11, also at St. Mary’s. Burial will take place at Holy Cross Cemetery, 12704 NE 98th St. in Maxwell. Memorials may be directed to Iowa Jobs for America’s Graduates (iJAG) and the Holy Cross Cemetery fund, and condolences may be left for the family at coburnfuneralhomes.com