Erwin "Vance" Wartick

Erwin “Vance” Wartick passed into eternal life at his home on Saturday, January 20, 2018 after a courageous battle with cancer. Vance was born in Winfield, Kansas on May 7, 1948. He was the son of Delno and Ruby Wartick. They lived on a farm in Grenola, Kansas. He was the youngest of 4 children. After finishing high school, Vance followed his heart and faith and attended Ozark Bible College in Joplin, Missouri. Upon graduating in 1971, he took his first job in Alta, Iowa. While living in Alta he went on a blind date with Pamela Jo Andersen. They were married on March 4th and have one son, Jason. They moved to Le Mars, Iowa. In Le Mars, he became interested in the food industry and they decided to go into the restaurant business. For several years, they owned and operated The Villager Restaurant and Le Mars became their home. Vance loved the outdoors, you could always find him playing tennis, golfing, and working in his yard. His greatest passion was flying. He began flying in 1968 and held an instrument license. He felt flying was the ultimate freedom. Vance and Pam moved to Urbandale in 1994. Finding success in the food industry, he worked as a salesman and retired from Reinhart foods in 2014. Vance and Pam loved traveling, and took many vacations with family and friends. He loved cheering on The Iowa Hawkeyes and the family has had season tickets for several years – Go Hawks! The crowning jewels in Vance’s life were his 3 grandchildren, James, Maggie, and Sam. He would rather spend time with them over anything else. They are his legacy. There is nothing that compares to this. Left to cherish his memory are his wife, Pam of 46 years; son Jason (Tricia) Wartick; 3 grandchildren; siblings, Wallace Wartick, and sister Marcita (Benjamin) Eastman; father-in-law, John Andersen; brother-in-law, John (Dawn) Andersen; sister-in-law, Michael (Steven) Kohli; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his mother and father, Ruby and Delno Wartick; a sister, Colleen Bennett; and a sister-in-law Wanda Wartick. Vance loved life and lived every day to the fullest. He would want to see everyone of you celebrate it. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to Unity Point Hospice.