We have also recently learned of the passing of three other long time employees of Manatts, Inc.  I would like to take this opportunity to write about each one of them as I have been with Manatts permanently since 1975 and knew them all well.

Jim Manatt worked with Junie and the Manatt Brothers since almost the beginning.  As a matter of fact, I do not remember Jim not working here.  As a driver of our dump trucks, he always set the bar high for other drivers.  Whether it was getting the first load in the morning or getting one more load than the others during the day, he set the standard.  Even into his seventies, I always heard dispatch say, as they looked into their yard full of trucks, that they wished they could find more drivers like Jim.

Always friendly, but ready with a cute, sometimes questionable look, he always said hello; and for us young managers, he always did the job and did it well.  He was a great example of our mission statement “To Safely Do Every Job Better Than Anyone Else.” 

Every spring after “retirement age” we wondered if Jim would be back for another season of driving; and every year until he was 81, he showed up ready for work.  Jim was 84 at his passing.

John Hugen lost his three-year battle with lung cancer the beginning of June.  Many who knew John knew that he loved sports and when he was younger played a lot of basketball and softball.  About 3 ½ years ago, he went to have surgery on his knee, probably needed from an old sports injury, and had the usual chest X-ray prior to surgery.  It was then that he found out that he had a spot on his lung.

John put up a great battle with this dreaded illness including having a lung removed and endless chemotherapy and radiation treatments.  Through this all he never made his problems the problems of others.  When he came to realize that his battle would be tough and he couldn’t perform his work up to his standards, he chose to go on disability.  However, true to form for John, he still wanted to work, so he came to our Ames office when he was up to it, even after something like 35 years in the business.  Many at work cheered for and feared for him.

John was well liked.  He had worked for Manatts, Inc. since 1982 when we purchased Iowa Road Builders, Ames Operation.  I was involved with that purchase and have known John since that time.  It was our good fortune to have someone like John in Ames that cared for his customers, company and crew.  As far as I know, at the young age of 63, he was our elder statesman in Ames.  I am reasonably sure that he worked at that location longer than any else presently employed there.  Oh, did I forget to mention his loyalty!

John is greatly missed.

Tuesday, June 14^th, I was notified that my good friend Klete Lenz died at age 73.  Since 1984, Klete began work at our company to care for our buildings, grounds, and homes around Brooklyn and Grinnell.  I got to know Klete when he was Director of Buildings and Grounds for the Newton Community School District, and I was green as grass working at our Newton location learning the asphalt business.  Our goal at the Newton Schools was to get the kids out of the mud and place asphalt on the various playgrounds.  He loved what we could do for the schools, and I loved selling him the asphalt.

Once or twice a year, we got together for lunch, swapped stories, and Klete would let me know what was wrong with this world.  He seemed to have an answer for all its problems.  Our relationship was a good example of how your customers can become your friends.

He told me in the late seventies that when he retired from the schools, he wanted to get a job driving a truck for Manatts.  I did not know why.  I thought he was too gifted in other areas.  Well, the rest of the story is that when he got out of the schools, we hired him to look after our long neglected buildings and lawns at Manatts.  He would be the reason why when you come to our Brooklyn office, you saw the great looking collections of buildings, clean shop floors, and beautiful trees and grass.  He placed a whole new emphasis on an area of our business that was sadly neglected and thankfully, passed on his expertise well.  I guess I would have to lovingly call Klete a neat freak.  There wasn’t a tree he didn’t like, or a lawn he didn’t believe he couldn’t make look better.

His legacy lives on even since retirement.  We are proud of our great facilities.  I will miss my customer, employee and friend.