John E. Soorholtz (19 December 1930 – 28 December 2012) was an American farmer and politician from Iowa. John Soorholtz was born in

Marshalltown, Iowa Marshalltown is a city in and the county seat of Marshall County, Iowa, United States, located along the Iowa River. It is the seat and most populous settlement of Marshall County and the 16th largest city in Iowa, with a population of 27,591 at ...

, on 19 December 1930, to parents Howard and Edna. He graduated from Melbourne High School in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in 1949, then attended

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

. During the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, Soorholtz was deployed to Germany. He married Barbara Herbert in 1951, with whom he raised five daughters. Soorholtz was a longtime hog farmer and active in many pork production organizations. He led the Iowa Pork Producers Association as president from 1969 to 1972, when he was named president of the Iowa Hampshire Association. Soorholtz retained the latter presidency until 1974, and also served the National Pork Council in the same role. Additionally he chaired the Iowa Beginning Farmers’ Program and Purebred Swine Council. By 1980, he was a board member for the Iowa Family Farm Development Authority. His career as a farmer was acknowledged by induction into the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation Hall of Fame and the National Pork Producers Council Hall of Fame. Soorholtz expressed support for

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

prior to the

1980 Republican Party presidential primaries From January 21 to June 3, 1980, voters of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party chose its nominee for President of the United States, president in the 1980 United States presidential election. Retired Hollywood actor and two-term ...

. In 1983, Soorholtz contested a special election for

District 36 A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

of the

Iowa Senate The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly, United States. There are 50 seats in the Iowa Senate, representing 50 single-member districts across the state of Iowa with populations of approximately 60,927 per constituency, . ...

as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

candidate, and defeated incumbent state representative Thomas E. Swartz, the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

nominee. Soorholtz took office on 8 November 1983, and was subsequently elected to two full terms, retiring from the state senate on 10 January 1993. In 1998 and 2002, Soorholtz won a seat on the Marshall County Board of Supervisors, which he held until 2006. Soorholtz died on 28 December 2012, at Mercy Medical Center – Des Moines. Representatives from the

National Pork Board The National Pork Board is a program sponsored by the United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service whose purpose is to provide consumer information, perform industry-related research, and promote pork as a food product. The ...

attended his visitation, held on 3 January 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soorholtz, John 1930 births 2012 deaths Farmers from Iowa Politicians from Marshalltown, Iowa Republican Party Iowa state senators 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians Iowa State University alumni County supervisors in Iowa