Obituary
Wallace Edgar Huffman
1943-2020
Wallace “Wally” Edgar Huffman, of Ames, passed away on Wednesday, June 10, 2020 at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester, Minnesota.
Friends may call from 3-7:00 P.M. on Thursday, June 18, 2020 at the Reiman Ballroom at Iowa State University Alumni Center where there will be a prayer service held at 7:00 P.M. Private family funeral service will be held at 11:00 A.M. on Friday, June 19, 2020 at St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Des Moines and may be viewed at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83353355087. A public burial will be held at 2:00 P.M. on Friday, June 19, 2020 at ISU Cemetery in Ames. Due to COVID-19, social distancing and use of facemasks will be encouraged at all services.
Born on September 22, 1943 in Batavia, Iowa, Wally was the son of Edgar and Louise (Sterling) Huffman. He began farming and driving a tractor at age 5, which developed his love of tractors and taught him about hard work at an early age. He began his education in a one-room schoolhouse and graduated from Pekin High School in 1961. He entered a two-year program in farm operations at Iowa State University with the intention of returning to farming. Wally was able to continue his education on a scholarship at ISU where he began as a star chemistry student but ended up developing a lifelong passion for economics. While attending ISU, Wally was the President of Farmhouse Fraternity. He was then encouraged by ISU Economics Professor Raymond Beneke to further his education at the University of Chicago, where he earned a Ph.D. in economics. Wally worked at Oklahoma State prior to returning to Iowa State University in 1974. He rose to the very top of the professional ranks at Iowa State and served as Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Professor of Economics. Throughout his career, Wally supervised 28 doctoral dissertations and 14 Master’s degree theses. He was extremely dedicated and passionate about his career, and has left an impact in the field of agricultural economics. He enjoyed attending conferences around the world with his wife and bringing their daughter along starting at the age of 6 months.
Wally was united in marriage to Sonya Kostova at Saint George Greek Orthodox Church in Des Moines on July 20, 1996. Together they had one daughter, Nadia, who has followed in her parents’ footsteps as an Economics scholar. Wally was extremely proud of his family and of the paper that he and Nadia co-authored.
In his spare time, Wally loved to travel. He especially enjoyed spending time in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and Ravello, Italy. He enjoyed woodworking and building wood sculptures. Wally was a long-time member of Saint George Greek Orthodox Church in Des Moines. He also enjoyed spending time with his puppy, Gingy.
Wally is survived by his wife, Sonya of Ames; daughter, Nadia of Ames; sister, Connie (Chuck) Peterson of Apple Valley, MN; his mother and father-in-law, Nadia Kostova and Dimiter Kostov of Bulgaria; a brother-in-law, Krasimir Kostov of Bulgaria; nieces: Carissa (Rob) Bartlett, Teresa (James) Shackelford, and Heather (Gary) Demaree; nephews: Paul (Tina) Peterson and Michael (Jessie) Pickett; and many cousins.
He was preceded in death by his parents, and a sister, Shirley Pickett.