Lucas Sweeney

Funeral Services: Will be held on Friday, December 20, 2013, at 10:00 a.m. at the United Methodist Church in Greenfield with burial in the Carl Cemetery, rural Corning, Iowa. A luncheon will follow the burial at the church. Pastor Eric Schubert will officiate the service.  

Visitation: Will be held on Thursday, December 19th, at the Steen Funeral Home in Greenfield from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. 

Family Visitation: The family will greet friends on Thursday evening at the Steen Funeral Home in Greenfield from 6 to 8 p.m. 

Memorials: Memorials may be directed to Camp Sunnyside or South Central Iowa Special Olympics in care of Steen Funeral Home, P.O. Box 390, Greenfield, Iowa.

Lucas Jon Sweeney was born December 9, 1990 in Creston, Iowa to Jon and Debora (Shires) Sweeney. He passed away at the age of 23 at the Adair County Memorial Hospital in Greenfield, Iowa on December 16, 2013.

Lucas lived in Lenox, Iowa until moving to the farm near Prescott in 1995. He attended school in Prescott and Creston before moving to Fontanelle in 2001. Lucas graduated from Nodaway Valley High School in 2010.

As an avid race car fan, Lucas was a regular at Adams County Speedway on Saturday nights. He enjoyed NASCAR and was able to meet Carl Edwards at Greenwood, NE while attending a racing event with his Dad. He loved to attend tractor pulls during the summer. In the winter months, he had tractor pulling videos to watch until the new season began. Lucas had a special gift for putting puzzles together and has framed a few of his favorites.

Lucas was a competitor. He was involved in Special Olympics and enjoyed participating in bowling, basketball, cycling and track and field. Attending Camp Sunnyside was especially important to him, and he always came home with stories to share.

This past year Lucas was able to accomplish many of his dreams. He was able to fly for the first time to visit his grandparents in Texas, rode a horse on the beach, learned how to rope, attained a golf-cart driver’s license, went Black Friday shopping, and attended several country music concerts.

Lucas never met a stranger and always had plenty of time to visit and share a story or two. He especially had a deep love for his nephews and niece and enjoyed helping with them and the times they spent together.

Lucas is survived by his mother, Deb Westphal of Greenfield and friend Roger Walter; two sisters, Alicia and husband Ryan Lens of Creston; Tonya and husband Jon Waters of Massena; three nephews, Austin Sweeney, Bryson Lens, and Corbin Waters; niece Hallie Keeler; maternal grandparents Myron and Jan Shires of Greenfield; step-father Larry (Zoomer) Westphal of Fontanelle; uncles Darwin and Lori Shires of Corning, Donald and Jen Shires of Corning, Danny and Sally Shires of Corning, Kevin and Debbie Sweeney of Lenox, Larry Sweeney of Creston; and aunts Donna Shires of Clarinda, Alice Reed of Prescott, Shelley Pettit of Des Moines; numerous cousins and friends.

He was preceded in death by his father Jon Sweeney; paternal grandparents Bill and Marge Sweeney; and cousin Shane Sweeney.