Greenwood Funeral Home Staff

Tim Greenwood

Tim is a lifetime resident of Cherokee, Iowa, graduating from Washington High School in 1971. He attended Northwest Missouri State University from 1971 - 1974. He is a Fall 1975 graduate of the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science. Following the death of his father, Frank, in 1976, Tim returned to Cherokee, Iowa, to operate the family business. Tim has been a member of NFDA/IFDA since 1976. He enjoys many outdoor activities and is involved with many civic organizations including Cherokee Chamber of Commerce, Red Cross, Rotary Club and Pheasants Forever, to name a few. Tim is married to the former Patricia Fitzgerald and they currently make their home at 900 West Cherry in Cherokee, Iowa. Tim and Patty have three children: Sara, John, and Patrick.

Sara is a 2005 graduate of the University of Iowa School of Law and is currently working out of the City Attorney's Office in Iowa City, working with planning and zoning and real estate development in Iowa City, Iowa. Sara is married to Matt Hektoen, of Fairfield, Iowa. Matt works as a private practice attorney, focusing on real estate, for Moyer & Bergman, PLC in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

John is a 2003 graduate from the University of Iowa and currently is a sales representative for Pfizer Pharmaceuticals and lives in Fayetteville and Wilmington, North Carolina.

Patrick is a 2005 graduate of the University of Iowa with a degree in Political Science. He graduated in April from Officer Candidate School for the Navy. Patrick currently is a Naval Intelligence Officer aboard the USS Ronald Reagan.

Ben Shuberg

Ben joined Greenwood Funeral Home in August of 2004 after he and his wife, Emily, decided to move back to their hometown. He became a licensed Funeral Director in 2007. Ben enjoys many outdoor activities and spending time with his wife Emily. He is a member of the local Kiwanis Club and the Knights of Columbus.

Herb Ford

LeRoy "Herb" Ford has been an important part of Greenwood Funeral Home for over 20 years. Herb is a retired railroad man with a great gift of helping others in the community of Cherokee. He is active with the Food Pantry, Mobile Meals, Knights of Columbus, and was named Cherokee's "Citizen of the Year" in 2003.

Greenwood Funeral Home History

Greenwood Funeral Home, of Cherokee, Iowa, was built in the late 1870s by Homer Walrath. This home was later purchased by Frank Stanoshek and his family who made this a home to be remembered as they lived there for many years.

In the 1930s this home was purchased by W.H. Schmidt and it became Schmidt Funeral Home. This home stayed in the Schmidt family until 1953 when the business was purchased by Frank Greenwood and Don Whitlach. This was Greenwood & Whitlach Funeral Home until 1955 when Don Whitlach moved and the business became Greenwood Funeral Home. For years this business featured a large trade call business from the Cherokee Mental Health Institute. This business is one of the few remaining with an iron fence around the yard. The fence is in good repair, which is now a rarity.

This business was completely remodeled in 1965 and a large chapel and casket room were added. The preparation room was also remodeled and moved to the first floor. In 1976, following the death of Frank Greenwood, his son Tim Greenwood moved back to Cherokee and has operated and owned the business since then.

This home features a very large upstairs apartment that has held precious few families for 55 years. First, the Wheeler family for 30+ years, the Filmore Nelson family for 18 years, and now the Ben and Emily Shuberg family. Many of the unique features in this 130 year old building have been transferred to the new addition, including oak door headers and leaded, cut glass windows.