Max LeRoy Jarnagin was born June 29, 1916, in Yale, Guthrie Co., Iowa to Beryl Kent and Abby Mae (Hood) Jarnagin. The following year the family moved to Lohrville, IA, where Max grew up and graduated from high school in 1934. On July 17, 1937, he and Eloise Irwin were married in Fort Dodge. They made their home on a farm near Rockwell City until moving to Sac City in 1946. There Max established a blacksmithing business, and it was said that if a farmer brought a farm implement in for repair, Max often would improve its design when he fixed it. But with development of modern implements, the demand for blacksmith skill waned, and around 1960 Max became employed in the experimental department of Noble Manufacturing, where he worked until his retirement in 1980. He enjoyed fishing, hunting, target shooting and playing cards. Max loved to joke and tease his grandkids, and he was always eager to help his kids with home improvement projects. Max and Eloise looked forward to their annual vacations to northern Minnesota with their children and grandchildren, and after Max retired the two of them enjoyed many road trips to the southern and western U.S.

Max died on February 6, 1989, at home, after a prolonged illness. Funeral services were held at the Farber and Otteman Funeral Home, with burial at Oakland Cemetery in Sac City. Survivors included his wife, Eloise; three children: JoAnn (Merle) McCrea of Glidden; Nancy (Owen) Johnson of Green River, Wyoming, and James (Susan) Jarnagin of Mason City; eight grandchildren: Mark McCrea, Steve McCrea, Amy (McCrea) Platt, Donna Johnson, Eric Johnson, Julie Jarnagin, John Jarnagin and Brian Jarnagin; and a brother, Percy Jarnagin. He was preceded in death by his parents, and a brother, Claire Jarnagin.