Thomas "Tom" Rihner

Thomas “Tom” LeRoy Rihner was born on February 4, 1935, in Shelby, Iowa to Wilbur L. “Roy” and Bertha “Bertie” (Messerschmidt) Rihner. He attended Shelby Consolidated School and graduated with the Class of 1953. During high school, Tom drove a school bus on Route 4 and helped his father with his trucking business. In 1953, he worked for the Rock Island Railroad helping build the line from Atlantic to Council Bluffs.

On November 23, 1955, Tom married his high school sweetheart, Joyce Eggerss, at First Lutheran Church in Avoca, Iowa. He was confirmed at the First Presbyterian Church in Shelby, where he later served as a Trustee and Elder, before eventually becoming a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Walnut.

Tom leased the Co-op station in Shelby until he joined the Army in 1957, completing basic training at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas. He was then stationed at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, where Joyce joined him until his service ended and they returned to Shelby. He worked at the Shelby elevator, but his true passion was farming. They eventually rented a farm south of Shelby, where Menards now stands.

Over the years, Tom and Joyce moved several times before settling into their home east of Shelby in 1969. In 2002, the couple moved to their current residence. Tom passed away at home, surrounded by his family, on Sunday, March 16, 2025 having attained the age of 90 years, one month and twelve days.

He is survived by his wife of 69 years, Joyce Rihner of Shelby; daughter, Lori (Darin) Andersen of Council Bluffs; son, Gale (Pamela) Rihner of Shelby; four grandchildren: Garrett (Maci) Andersen of Ankeny, Jake Andersen of St. Louis, Missouri, Ben Rihner of Oklahoma City and Josh Rihner of Shelby; one great-granddaughter, Olivia Andersen.

Visitation will be held on Thursday, March 20, 2025, from 5:00 p.m.to 7:00 p.m. at Heartland Funeral Home in Harlan. Memorial Services will be Friday, March 21, 2025, at 10:30 a.m. at the First Presbyterian Church in Walnut. Burial will be in the Shelby Cemetery in Shelby. Memorials may be directed to Carstens Farm in Tom’s name.