Jeff Easley

Jeffrey James Easley was born on January 5, 1968 in Des Moines, Iowa and passed away at home in rural Earlham, Iowa, surrounded by family and friends on March 11, 2020 after a heroic battle with cancer. Jeff was the son of Betty (Koboldt) and Roger Easley. He attended school in Earlham, Iowa, and went on to earn an auto body certification at Des Moines Area Community College. In 2003 Jeff married Nina Lorimor-Easley and created a family with his son Marlo, and her children Kacey and Clay. In 2005 Jeff and Nina welcomed Zaiden Lamar Easley into their life. While Zaiden was Jeff’s only biological child, he wholly filled the role of “dad” to all of the kids with steadfast love and quiet dependability. Jeff’s work ethic was second to none, even once being referred to by a friend as “the hardest working man in Earlham”. Jeff worked for Dexter Fertilizer during high school and after, drove a tractor-trailer for Sysco Iowa and then for Casey’s General Stores. He drove not only in Iowa but throughout the Midwest, making friends at every location he delivered to. Jeff was passionate about many things. Even though he was a renowned introvert, when he found people he had things in common with he could easily chat for hours. His cattle, farm, and “collections” often consumed his mind. Jeff was an old soul and was a collector of classic vehicles, machinery, toys and more; of note was his love of Snoopy and Tinkerbell. He was not interested in anything new-fangled or computerized but was very interested in the way his grandfathers did things, and keeping old things working, useful, and relevant. Jeff was a workaholic, but his children and family were his driving force. He taught all of the kids what it means to work hard, and to stay at a task even if things weren’t going right. He was quick to set aside his own agenda and lend a hand, fix a problem or assist a friend, or stranger in any way. Jeff had strong opinions and wasn’t afraid to voice them, sometimes making him seem gruff. In contrast, he cried during movies, often unexpectedly brought roses home for Nina, stopped the tractor to help new fawns get out of harm’s way, made a mission of doing things like rescuing Otis and stacking hay to make shelter for the barn cats, and ensuring the birds of the farm were supplied with ample food at all times. Jeff was a connoisseur of fine foods like mashed potatoes, noodles, Smarties, gummy bears, and Marshmallow Fruit Loops, and in recent years had expanded his horizons some to include a few more green vegetables and even a few bites of haggis. He was skilled with his hands; both wood and metal work were second nature, and mechanical problems he could not fix were a rarity. Jeff is survived by his family: wife Nina Lorimor-Easley, children Zaiden Easley, Marlo (Sara) Morgan, Clay Reynolds, and Kacey (Logan) Greif; granddaughter Aaliyah, cousin and confidant Deb Easley, sister Judy (Craig) Marshall, and his mother Betty Easley. He is also survived by cousins and friends too numerous to list. Jeff was met at the gates of heaven by his father, Roger Easley and his grandparents Wayne and Martha (Wilson) Koboldt, and Ruby (Henson) and Lamar Easley. It was a noisy greeting because his dachshunds Snoopy, Penny, Sadie and Heidi were all there to greet him as well.