William House Gilbert, 96, of Iowa Falls, Iowa, passed away Wednesday, November 21, 2012, at Scenic Manor, Iowa Falls. Funeral services for William Gilbert will be 10:30 am Tuesday, November 27, 2012 at the First Congregational United Church of Christ, 520 College Avenue, Iowa Falls. A time of visitation will be from 4:30 to 7:00 pm Monday, November 26th at the Linn's Funeral Home 1521 Washington Avenue, Iowa Falls. Burial will be at the Union Cemetery, Iowa Falls. The Linn's Funeral Home Iowa Falls chapel has been entrusted with the arrangements.

William House Gilbert was born Oct. 21, 1916, to Charles Hooker and Mabel House Gilbert on the rural Iowa Falls farm where he later spent his farming career. He graduated from Iowa Falls High School in 1934 and with honors from Iowa State College with a Bachelors Degree in Agricultural Economics in 1941. Graduate studies in agricultural economics at Iowa State were interrupted in 1942 by the war. He served 43 months in the US Navy, including two years as the engineering officer aboard the USS Manlove destroyer escort in the western Pacific.
Only days after his discharge in the fall of 1946, he was helping pick corn on the family farm. On July 13, 1947 he married Mary Jean Barrick in Enid, Oklahoma. They made their home; dairy farmed, and raised six sons on the farm where he was born nine miles southwest of Iowa Falls. He developed the Gibralter Brown Swiss dairy herd he had begun in high school and was active with the Iowa Brown Swiss Association, including terms as vice president and president. Bill was an early adopter of many technologies, including one of the first to replace the moldboard plow with a chisel. He was a long-time advocate of soil conservation and crop rotations. Bill was particularly proud of the Century Farm designation of the home farm, and that his grandson John and his wife Sarah had returned to be the third generation to dairy.
He spent 45 years as a township trustee, and more than 45 years on the Hardin County Democratic Central Committee. Among his recognitions were; the Iowa Distinguished Dairyman Award in 1974, the honorary ISU Dairy Club member in 1983, and for lifetime achievement with the Iowa Farmers Union in 2010. Shortly before his death he was recognized for his 80 years membership in the First Congregational United Church of Christ, Iowa Falls.
Bill's father had been a school principal and superintendent, and his mother had taught school, leading him to be a big believer in education and lifelong learning. He was proud that he had worked to put himself through Iowa State, and that he and Mary helped his sons get their college educations, mostly at Iowa State. He and Mary also endowed a scholarship for ISU dairy science students with Brown Swiss connections.
Bill had a great fondness for baseball, having played as a youth and managed an Iowa Falls team. He enjoyed attending major league games and spring training when traveling.
Being an adventurous traveler, he combined promoting Brown Swiss cattle and taking pictures, while visiting more than 24 countries, including Russia, China and Kenya. He visited all 50 state capitols during his domestic trips. He also avidly stayed abreast of current events and frequently wrote letters to the editor and guest columns.
He is survived by his sons and their families: Bill and Kathy (Heidi and Will), Warren, New Jersey; John and Bev (John, James, and Kate), Iowa Falls, Iowa; Greg and Barb (Tony, Jennifer and Ryan), Iowa Falls; Bruce and Joyce (Bradley), Ames; Michael and Bridget (Matthew, Billy Jack, Montana Sue and Kash), Jackson, Minnesota; Dan and Sandra (Nathan), Ft. Atkinson, Wisconsin, and six great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, and brother C. Harold.
Memorial contributions may be sent in care of John Gilbert, 20586 J Ave., Iowa Falls 50126.