Anthony Albert Tremmel

Anthony Tremmel, age 84, of Cresco died peacefully on August 22, 2023, at Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center in La Crosse, WI, surrounded by his family, after a 20-year struggle with cancer.  He was born in 1938 on the family farm near Ashton, Iowa, to Albert and Helen Tremmel.  He graduated from St. Benedict’s College in Atchison, Kansas, in 1961.

Anthony began his 50-year teaching career with the Papal Volunteers for Latin America in 1961, volunteering for one year in British Honduras (Belize) and three years in Brazil.  In Brazil, he worked with fellow Iowan Mary Jo Haag, and they were married in 1966.  He taught high school English for eight years when the family lived in North English.  He earned a master’s degree in English from the University of Iowa in 1970, and he participated in the Iowa Writing Project for several years starting in 1979.

Anthony taught junior high English in Cresco from 1974 to 1998.  From 1998 to 2012, he taught at Northeast Iowa Community College in Calmar, teaching English as a second language in the learning center and helping to create a writing center where students could share their work.

Anthony and Mary Jo were active in the Catholic Church, including Assumption and Notre Dame Parishes.  Motivated by the poverty they observed in Latin America, they were committed to reducing world hunger.  In 2000, Anthony became a founding member of the Norman Borlaug Heritage Foundation Board to honor one of Cresco’s own whose agricultural achievements are helping to feed the world.  Anthony was a Cresco Public Library trustee for more than 30 years, he was active in the Cresco Community Lions Club, and he was involved in the Iowa Driftless Chapter of Trout Unlimited.  He enjoyed writing poetry and prose, gardening, and fly fishing.

Anthony is survived by his wife; their three children, Mark, Paul, and Elizabeth (Matteo Gilebbi); his brother Father Ben and sisters Therese and Agnes (Robert Pouy); and many beloved nieces and nephews.  He was preceded in death by his parents, his sister Mary Ann, and his brother-in-law James Lynch.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Notre Dame Parish or the Norman Borlaug Heritage Foundation.

Mass of Christian Burial will be at 11 am on Monday, August 28, 2023, at Notre Dame Catholic Church in Cresco, IA, with Father Daniel Knipper officiating.  Visitation for Tony will be from 4-7 pm on Sunday, August 27, 2023, at the Hindt-Hudek Funeral Home in Cresco, IA, with Recitation of the Rosary at 3:30 pm.  Visitation will continue on Monday for one hour prior to the start of the service.  Burial will take place in Calvary Cemetery.

To send flowers to the family, please visit our floral store.