John E. Rahe, 74, of Dyersville, Iowa, passed away Monday, August 21, 2023 at the Good Neighbor Home in Manchester, Iowa.

Visitation for John will be held from 2 to 8 p.m., Sunday, August 27, 2023, at the Reiff Funeral Home in Dyersville, Iowa, where a prayer service will be held at 1:30 p.m.  Visitation will also be held after 9 a.m. on Monday at the funeral home.

A Mass of Christian burial for John will be held at 10:30 a.m., Monday, August 28, 2023, at the Basilica of St. Francis Xavier in Dyersville, Iowa with Rev. Chris Podhajsky officiating.  Concelebrating will be Rev. Jacob Epstein.  Burial will be held in St. Francis Cemetery in Dyersville, Iowa.

John Edward Rahe, son of Gilbert and Florabelle (Klostermann) Rahe, was born February 8, 1949, in Dyersville.  He was the first son of their 11 children. Family and farming were cornerstones of his early years, and continued to be for the rest of his life.  John was a member of the first graduating class of Beckman Catholic High School in 1967.  He furthered his education at The University of Iowa, graduating with a BA in History.

After college, John returned to the family farm north east of Dyersville.  He was united in marriage to Nikki Knippel on Friday, August 3, 1973 at St. Francis Xavier Basilica.  This union was blessed with four sons: Benjamin, Adam, Aaron, and Andrew.  John and Nikki cultivated crops, livestock, faith, and family on the same farm in New Wine Township where John and his siblings were raised.  In 2011, he retired and moved to Dyersville, all the while maintaining an avid interest in the farm he and Nikki passed down to their sons.

John loved family, friends, farming, reading, good intellectual conversation, traveling to visit his siblings and in-laws, and all things baseball, especially the New York Yankees.  Most people have to travel to see their favorite sports team.  John was lucky enough to have the Yankees travel to his hometown to play the first Major League Baseball game in Iowa at the Field of Dreams in August 2021.  It made his day to attend the game with his family.

He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Nikki; sons, Benjamin (Sarah) of Webster City, Adam (Kiley), Aaron (Lauren), and Andrew (Vickie), all of Dyersville; grandchildren, Noah, Aiden, Sienna, Lucy, Anna, Natalie, Elizabeth, Kathryn, Caroline, Theodore, Valerie, Vivienne, Chase, Vanna, Vayda; sisters Mary Kay Matischeck, Janet Hennekens, Lois Noel, Doris (Gary) Brown, Carmen (Jim) Epstein, Marsha (Mark) Hauser, Colleen Mormann, Michelle Rahe; brothers, Dewayne (Krystal) and Keith (Jacque); many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his parents; a grandson, James Rahe; his father and mother-in-law, Clifford and Berniece Knippel; brothers-in-law Peter Matischeck, Bill Hennekens, and Don Noel; aunts, uncles, and cousins.

A video tribute may be viewed, and online condolences sent to the family at www.reifffuneralhomeinc.com

The family would like to thank the staff of the Good Neighbor Home and Care Initiatives Hospice of Manchester for all the care, kindness and support given to John and our family.