Lloyd H. Eskew, 69, of Ottumwa died July 6, 2026.
He was born December 16, 1956 in Ottumwa to Howard Oklin and Lucille Stoffa Eskew.
Lloyd was proud of his Lutheran heritage & that his grandparents, mother & uncle Harold started a mission church in their homes which led to three families as founding families of Trinity Lutheran Church where he had served as a Sunday School teacher for 8 years, president, vice president, secretary of the congregation, usher, and elder. He played in the adult chime choir & after his eldest child started playing French Horn, they enjoyed playing duets at Christmas & bringing Peggy in for a trio.
Lloyd was passionate about being the best person he could be. He was a friend to everyone and remembered names, places they met, discussions they had & even details like the color of socks they had worn. He never knew a stranger. At a racetrack out of state, sitting next to strangers, he struck up a conversation & had the best time ever.
He loved his family only second to God. The love of his life and best thing that ever happened was the day he convinced Peggy for that first date (she said no twice). A proud moment was when they won a Nerd & Nerdette contest at a RodRun. Always a fun time at car shows, Lloyd told everyone he was in a band & to come see them. He was the lead singer of Juan Sebastian and the Little Baby Electric Pineapples. Best airband around with headers as guitars, slicks for drums, 57 Chevy dash with twinkle lights as the piano. The band had an offer for a real gig, but the guys were too busy with real life of working on cars & traveling to car shows. Lloyd had been Publicity Chair of Hawkeye Rod & Custom.
Lloyd took his bride back to their first date for their honeymoon – the bowling alley. To make it up to her they celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary early when they traveled with OHS band students & staff as chaperones to Hawaii. Helping the band and all music programs was something very dear to his heart.
A 1975 graduate of Ottumwa High School, Lloyd was the class president. He graduated from Indian Hills Community College. He had started his career as a service manager for Benson Motors, was a maintenance mechanic for Hormel for 10 years; purchasing officer for Excel; sales for Crescent Electric, Vaughn Motors & Bowling Motors. He retired in 2004.
He married Peggy Hannan on Dec. 21, 1991. To this union two children were born, Kalina and Janelle.
He is survived by his wife, Peggy; 2 daughters, Kalina (Ian Slagle), and Janelle; a brother-in-law, Mike (Joan) Hannan of Denver; two nieces; and many close cousins who were like siblings.
He was preceded in death by his parents and a half-brother Arthur Carol Eskew.
Funeral services will be 10:30 a.m. Friday July 10th at Trinity Lutheran Church with Rev. James Preus officiating. Family will be present to greet friends from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Friday prior to the service at the church. Burial will be in Memorial Lawn Cemetery. Per Lloyd’s wishes please wear your Hawaiian attire to the funeral.
Memorials may be made to the family.
