Virgil Buhr
Virgil George Buhr, 88, of Denver, Iowa passed away Monday, March 31, 2025 at Bartels Lutheran Retirement Community in Waverly Iowa.
Virgil was born on May 17, 1936, two years after his parents, George and Dorothy (Hubbard) Buhr, began farming the land immediately south of Denver, Iowa. On April 5, 1959, Virgil married Shirley Leerhoff, having met her earlier at a dance. The couple made their home in Denver until 1964, when they purchased and moved onto the family farm. There, they raised their two children, Brenda and Brian, and built a thriving, modern hog and cattle operation.
Together, Virgil and Shirley were a true team—successfully managing the farm while Virgil also worked “in town.” He started at the Shield Bantam factory in Waverly, then later joined the John Deere Product Engineering Center, where he worked until retiring in 2004. Virgil took great pride in his role at John Deere and collected memorabilia from his career at Deere.
In retirement, Virgil and Shirley were inseparable. They traveled across the country on bus tours, and chasing down family roots. They remained on the family farm—Virgil’s lifelong home—until moving to the Bartels Community in 2022. Even there, they were rarely apart. Virgil was known for his ever-present smile and his familiar greeting: “Hi, how you doin’?” Shirley, of course, never lost her ‘sneaky’ sense of humor.
On March 31, 2025, Virgil passed peacefully in his sleep, free from the burdens of Alzheimer’s. He lives on in Shirley’s heart and in the memory of their 66 years together—a life well-lived, and deeply loved. Virgil is survived by his wife, Shirley, their two children, Brenda Yearling (Dave Verhille) and Brian and his wife, Michelle (Hodson) Buhr; four grandchildren, Laurel Buhr, Hannah (Justin) Green, Tyler (Sarah) Buhr and Cole Yearling; three great-grandchildren Evelyn and Sloane Green and Bennett Buhr and a sister, JoAnne (Marvin) of Sarasota, Florida. He is preceded in death by his parents and sister, Beverly (Buhr) Wolter.
Funeral services were held Friday, April 4, 2025, at 10:30 am at St. Peter Lutheran Church with Pastors Reed Pedersen and Mike Blair presiding. Burial followed in the church cemetery with military rites performed by the Acker-Matthias American Legion, Post 653 of Denver. Visitation was on Thursday from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at the Kaiser-Corson Funeral Home in Denver and an hour prior to the service on Friday at the church. Memorials can be directed to either the University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children’s Hospital or to Alzheimer’s research and online condolences left at www.kaisercorson.com.
Kaiser-Corson Funeral Home of Denver is assisting the Buhr family with arrangements. 319-984-5379