T-R FILE PHOTO — Larry McKibben, center, was the recipient of the Kenneth Brintnall Award from the Marshalltown Rotary Club in 2022. Also pictured is Ric Anderson to the left of McKibben and Mike Schlesinger to the right.

In any community, there are residents who take on sometimes challenging and thankless volunteer tasks to get things done without fanfare. They work to make their town, county, state and nation a better place to live, work and play.

The late Larry McKibben, 78, of Marshalltown was one. Sadly, he died Nov. 9 in Marshalltown of Alzheimer’s Disease.

McKibben, according to those who worked with or were acquainted with him, knew how to roll-up his sleeves and display a positive “can do” attitude. He was a practicing attorney for 48 years, a farmer, family man, legislator, school board member and distinguished Rotarian.

During the fall harvest on the family farm, McKibben could be counted on to hop on a combine. He would sweat and get his hands oily and dirty too.

“He always wanted to be involved … wanted to help … and he had a clear vision,” said Larry Beaty of West Des Moines.

Beaty, a physician, practiced in State Center for many years, retired, and moved to West Des Moines. Beaty said he and McKibben had a decades-long and strong friendship which began in junior high school and continued up to his friend’s death.

“When I left the area, Larry said ‘I will just have to visit you there,'” Beaty said.

On Monday evening, the Marshalltown City Council — at the request of Mayor Joel Greer — began the meeting with a moment of silence to honor McKibben.

“I told everyone that he was a competitor … since he was the lead lawyer in a long-established law firm as was I,” Greer said. “Larry joined the Marshalltown Rotary Club and received the highest award for volunteering. His level of commitment to the community and to the state was outstanding.”

There was more.

“In the last years of his life, Larry became one of my favorite people to comment about city issues … he was so positive about things the city council was doing to move our town forward,” Geer said.

His demeanor in problem solving in the Iowa legislature was described as “professional” by Mayor Mark Smith of West Liberty. McKibben served as a state senator from 1997 to 2010.

Smith, a former Marshalltown resident and Democratic state representative for many years, worked collaboratively with McKibben, a Republican.

“I was sorry to learn of Larry’s passing and left a message on the funeral home tribute wall,” he said. “My sympathy is with Marlene (McKibben’s spouse) and the family at this time. While we are on opposite sides politically, we did work together on a number of issues that were important to Marshalltown and the area. Those included providing adequate funding for the Iowa Veterans Home, ensuring that property owners were treated fairly by the Iowa Department of Transportation when they were doing land acquisitions. We also worked collaboratively to make sure nursing home residents were receiving proper care,” Smith said.

The two also worked together when the Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce traveled to Des Moines annually to meet with legislators to promote the Marshalltown area and lobby for legislation that would benefit Marshalltown, Marshall County and central Iowa residents.

They also worked together when the Chamber annually visited Washington D.C. to advocate for legislation to health care, transportation, workforce development, education and more for constituents.

Throughout his life, McKibben was a personal believer in education and an advocate, according to his obituary posted on the Anderson Funeral Home website. He considered the education of children to be an essential element of society and growth.

McKibben graduated from Marshalltown High School in 1965 and studied at Marshalltown Community College. He later graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in political science in 1970 from the University of Northern Iowa. McKibben earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Iowa College of Law in 1972. He was the founding member of the Marshalltown I-Club in 1975. He later received the University of Iowa College of Law Alumni Award for Service in 2020.

He served on the Marshalltown Community School District board for six years and later as a member of the Iowa Board of Regents from 2013-19. In that role, he approved allocations and management strategies for Iowa State University, The University of Northern Iowa and the University of Iowa.

His obituary urged readers that, in lieu of flowers, to send memorials to the First Methodist Church at 202 West Main St. in Marshalltown or in care of the Larry and Marlene Endowed Scholarship — University of Northern Iowa Foundation, 204 Commons, Cedar Falls and to indicate that it is for the McKibben Scholarship. The scholarship funds benefit a first-generation undergraduate student from Iowa who is studying to be a future educator.

He spent years coaching girls softball and Little League games, umpiring, and attending as many events of his children and grandchildren as possible. Larry cherished every moment with Marlene, his wife of 56 years, and family.

He is survived by Marlene, son Mark (Laura) McKibben; daughter, Katie McKibben; grandson Brant (Bre) McKibben; grandson Luke (Grace) McKibben; brother David (Linda) McKibben; brother Don (Becky) McKibben; sister-in-law Valerie (Dan) Smith; and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Funeral services will be held 1 p.m., Thursday at First Methodist Church in Marshalltown. Visitation will be 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Thursday at the church. The service will be livestreamed on Anderson Funeral Home website. Interment will take place at Riverside Cemetery in Marshalltown following the service. Online condolences may be sent to www.andersonfhs.com.

“We will miss Larry,” Beaty said.