Charles "Chuck" Freese

Charles "Chuck" Freese, 93, of Holland, Iowa, passed away on Friday, February 20, 2026, at Grundy County Memorial Hospital under the care of Cedar Valley Hospice. A visitation will be held on Thursday, February 26, 2026, from 9:30 a.m. until the time of the funeral service at 11:00 a.m. at the Pleasant Valley Church in rural Holland. A time for fellowship where lunch will be served will be at the church following the service. A private burial will take place at the conclusion of the luncheon. In lieu of flowers memorials may be directed to the Grundy County Memorial Hospital.

Charles Arthur Freese was born March 25, 1932, at the Allen Hospital in Waterloo, Iowa. While he was a resident at Arlington Place, he was looking forward to celebrating his 94th birthday.

He was born the son of Cornelius and Gacina (Johnson) Freese. He grew up in Grundy County and attended country school and then graduated from Dike High School in 1951.

On December 19, 1952, he was united in marriage to his high school sweetheart Iva Dean Van Hauen. They were married at Pleasant Valley Church where they were faithful members their entire life. They welcomed two sons to this union, Terry Dean in 1955, and Steven Charles in 1959.

In February 1953 he was drafted into the US Army and went through training. He was then sent to Germany for 18 months and was discharged in 1955. While there, he enjoyed weekend furloughs to sightsee in France, Italy and Switzerland. He made many lifelong friendships during this time.

When he returned home to Iowa, he and Iva Dean began a life of farming and raising their sons. They enjoyed the animals and always had a large garden to feed the family during the winter months. They milked cows and raised hogs for many years. He enjoyed his John Deere tractors and working the fields brought him joy and satisfaction. After 40 years of farm life, they retired and moved to a house in Holland in 1995. There he enjoyed keeping his big lawn mowed and visiting with his neighbors.

Charles is survived by Terry Freese of Dubuque, Iowa and Steven (Sheila) Freese of Grundy Center, Iowa, Grandchildren: Evan (Emily) Freese, Bryan (Abby) Freese, and Erik (Kaitlynn) Freese all of Grundy Center. Great grandchildren: Savanna Flynn of Dubuque, Iowa, Axel, Crue, Veda and Jace Freese, Oliver and Charley Freese, and Bentley, Kaylor and Dylan Freese all of Grundy Center. Brothers: Roger Freese of Dike, IA and Harold Freese of Traer, Iowa, Brothers in law: Paul Meyer of Cedar Falls and Leland Van Hauen of Parkersburg, Iowa. He was preceded in death by his wife Iva Dean in 2016, his parents and stepmother, a sister Ruth (Eldon) Rindels, sisters in law Peggy Freese, Bonnie Freese, Neola Van Hauen, grandson Dean Allen Freese and granddaughter Sara Freese Flynn.

The family wants to thank Arlington Place, Grundy County Memorial Hospital and Cedar Valley Hospice for the wonderful care that he has received. Charles was truly blessed to live in such a great community with so many friends and family.