Forest Orville Loonan

Forest O. Loonan, 101, of Cedar Falls died Saturday, May 19, 2018 at Thalman Square of Western Home Communities.

He was born March 9, 1917 in Hudson, Iowa, son of Clifford and Lola Pullin Loonan. Forest married Ruth Weiland on October 3, 1948 in Britt, Iowa. She died May 31, 1997. Forest graduated from Hudson High School in 1934. He worked at Mead Container for 43 years retiring in 1981 as superintendent.

He served in the United States Army during World War II in the European, African and Middle Eastern theaters.

Forest was a thrifty man who loved to tinker and re-purpose old or broken things. He could often be found in his garage taking things apart and adding screws to his ever-growing screw collection (two of which were never the same). Forest had many adventures in home improvement and repair, including a make shift bathroom fan in Joanne’s house which fell in line with one of his many familiar expressions (or Forest-isms), “It doesn’t matter what it looks like, as long as it works.” He also liked to do body work on cars and could always be found wearing an old bucket fishing hat.

He enjoyed talking about the weather and was frequently heard saying, “Pretty soon there’s going to be some white stuff out there.” Forest was also an animal lover. He can be found in many photos holding or petting a dog. He was a simple and kind-hearted man who will be greatly missed by his family.

Forest is survived by three daughters, Kathleen (Jerry) Hankner of Waverly, Joanne (Lori Kluber) Loonan of Cedar Falls, and Julia Loonan of Waterloo; a son, Martin Loonan of Waterloo; four grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by three brothers, Carroll, Everett, and Gordon Loonan.