Elwood C. &8220;Piltz&8221; Pilz, age 83, Clear Lake, Iowa, died Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2006, at the Muse-Norris Hospice Inpatient Unit, Mason City, Iowa, after a battle with cancer. A funeral service will be held Oct. 10, 2006, Tuesday, 10:30 a.m. at Zion Lutheran Church, 112

N. Fourth St., Clear Lake, Iowa, with the Rev. Derik Yarian officiating. Visitation will be held Monday, Oct. 9, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Ward-Van Slyke Colonial Chapel; and one hour preceding the service at Zion Lutheran Church. Interment will be at Memorial Park Cemetery, Mason City, Iowa, with military honors performed by the Clear Lake V.F.W. Memorials may be given to Hospice of North Iowa in his name.

Elwood was born Oct. 24, 1922, in Lockport, Ill., the son of Fred and Selma (Boehnke) Pilz. He graduated from Ventura High School in 1940 and attended welding school in Joliet, Ill. Pilz married Elsie &8220;Julie&8221; Mae Juhl Mar 4, 1942 in Kahooka, Mo. They moved to Clear Lake. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in World War II. Following the service he came back to Clear Lake and worked for the Clear Lake Bakery as a route salesman until he retired.

Pilz enjoyed his flowers, birds and fishing. He was a very patriotic man with a very gentle spirit. He loved dancing with the love of his life, Julie, at the Surf Ballroom to Glenn Miller. He was a member of Zion Lutheran Church and the Clear Lake V.F.W.

Pilz is survived by his daughter Genie Hanson and her husband Bob, Albert

Lea; grandchildren Debra Hanson (Roland Krueger), Winston-Salem, N.C., and Dan Hanson (Laurie Casserly), Huntington, Vt.; sisters-in-law Ruth Juhl, Clear Lake, Iowa, Alice Thompson, Tacoma, Wash., and Ruth Juhl, Mason City, Iowa.

He was preceded in death by his parents, and wife Julie in 1992.