Obituaries

Dr. James Michael Tierney, 94 of Carroll died Monday, February 11, 2013 at St. Anthony Nursing Home in Carroll.
Mass of the Christian Burial will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at St. Anthony Nursing Home Chapel in Carroll. The Celebrant will be Fr. Timothy Schott. Con-Celebrant will be Fr. Timothy Johnson. Mass servers will be Zachary Henkenius and Grant Sanders. Pianist will be Marcy Anderson with Sherri Loughran as song leader. Violinist will be Becky Windschitl. Lectors will be Vern Henkenius and Michael Henkenius. Gift Bearers will be: Sarah Muhlbauer, Mary Beth Wiskus, Jennifer Kervin, Maureen Tierney, Melissa Tierney, and Monica Henkenius. Eucharistic Minister will be Jim Pedelty. Casket Bearers will be: Michael Henkenius, Pat Henkenius, David Pedelty, Dan Tierney, Bob Muhlbauer, Todd Wiskus, and Sean Kervin. Private family burial will be at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Carroll on Saturday.
Friends may call at the Sharp Funeral Home in Carroll after 4 p.m. on Friday where there will be a Christian Wake Service at 6 p.m. by St. Lawrence Parish. The casket will be moved to St. Anthony Nursing Home Chapel at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday where visitation will resume until time of the funeral mass. In lieu of flowers memorials may be left for St. Anthony Nursing Home or the St. Anthony Foundation.
Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Sharp Funeral Home in Carroll and online condolences may be left for the family at www.sharpfuneral.com.
Dr. James Michael (Jim) Tierney, son of Mable (Scanlon) and Raymond U. Tierney, was born August 19, 1918 in Des Moines, Iowa. When Jim was five, his family moved to Bouton, Iowa where his father managed the Bouton, Feed, Grain and Coal Elevator. In grade school, the family moved a few miles west to Perry. Jim graduated from St Patrick’s grade and high school in Perry and Creighton University in Omaha. He achieved his undergraduate degree in three years, followed by a medical school degree, graduating from Creighton in 1943. On July 26, 1943 he was married at Our Lady of Nebraska Chapel in the Omaha Cathedral to Mary Virginia Heires, daughter of Frances and Arthur Heires of Bloomfield, Nebraska.
With the US engaged in World War II, all medical students were required to enroll in the Military Service and Dr. Tierney chose the Naval Reserves. His first duty was at the Great Lakes Training Station near Chicago. From there he went to the Hastings, Nebraska Ammunition Depot as a staff doctor. Jim’s next orders were to go to sea. He joined a crew of the USS Sherbroun, an attack transport being built by Kaiser. The ship went to the Pacific to take part in troop landings. After his discharge in 1946, Dr. Tierney went into the Residency program at St. Joseph Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. He completed his Internal Medicine Residency at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Des Moines, Iowa.
Dr. Tierney moved to Carroll and began his Internal Medicine practice at the Carroll Medical Center on January 1, 1949 and continued in practice for 34 years until he retired in July 1983. His patients will remember him as an old-school physician who even made house calls. In addition to his heavy medical schedule, he was active in local and professional organizations. He was a member of the Carroll Elks Lodge, serving as their Exalted Ruler, and a member of the Carroll Country Club, serving as a board member and officer.
Professionally, Dr. Tierney was active in the Carroll County Medical Society, the Iowa State Medical Society, and the Iowa Society of Internal Medicine. During his many years of membership, he served as President of all three organizations. He also served on the Legal Committee of the Iowa State Medical Society and was an Iowa delegate and member of the American Medical Association. Friends will remember Dr. Jim Tierney as an avid golfer who took home some tournament trophies, especially in the Senior division. With a winter home in Arizona, he continued playing golf well into his late 80s. He was a keen bridge competitor and enjoyed weekly games of bridge and evening poker gatherings. Dr. Tierney loved sailing his small sailboat during their years on West Lake Okoboji.
Surviving him are his wife of 69 years, Virginia, their daughter Mary Fran (Jim) Pedelty of Carroll; three sons James Michael (Mary Jo) of Centennial, Colorado; Thomas of Redmond, Washington; and Dr. Dennis (Judy) of Omaha, Nebraska; and a son-in-law Vern Henkenius. There are eight grandchildren: Michael (Monica) Henkenius, Lincoln, Nebraska; Patrick Henkenius, Urbandale, Iowa; Mary Beth (Todd) Wiskus, Des Moines, Iowa; Sarah (Bob) Muhlbauer and Dave Pedelty of Carroll; Jennifer (Sean) Kervin, Denver, Colorado; Daniel (Melissa) Tierney, Santa Barbara, California; and Maureen Tierney, Omaha, Nebraska; and 14 great grandchildren. Dr. Tierney is also survived by his two brothers Raymond U. and Joseph P. Tierney of Cheyenne, Wyoming and two nephews David (Katherine) Heires of Bronxville, New York and Gregory (Rosa) of Montrose, New York.
Preceding him in death were his daughter Kathleen (Kathie) Henkenius; one sister -in-law Elizabeth (Ray) Tierney; one brother-in-law John (Jack) Hopkins Heires and his wife Alice; a nephew John Heires, Jr.; and his parents.