George Foreman was laid to rest in Northwest Iowa in 2025, fulfilling a long-held wish

KTIV.com ^ | April 16, 2026 | By Dean Welte, Katie Copple, Nathan Price, Al Joens, Acacia Killian and Joe McMahan

[Mean Daddy]

SIOUX CITY (KTIV) - Sioux City officials and family members have revealed that two-time heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman was laid to rest in a Northwest Iowa cemetery a year ago.

The Texas native didn’t have ties to Iowa; instead, he fell in love with its beauty and peace when he drove through the state in 1988.

Foreman never forgot Iowa following that trip, telling family members he wanted to be buried in the state. According to the family, Foreman often spoke of the area’s landscape, including the Loess Hills, and the sense of peace he felt during that visit.

“He talked about driving through after the Olympics and really seeing the heart of America, he said this is what it’s all about,” said George Foreman IV. A son of George Foreman. “Why Iowa? He never would tell us why. But now that we’re here, we get to see the hills and see the water and meet the people. Now I know exactly why he picked Iowa.”

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TOPICS: Weird Stuff
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[Mean Daddy]

Odd story so I thought I'd post. For people in the area, we refer to Sioux City as Sewer City. Glad he loved the area and chose it as his final resting place.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

Iowa is beautiful, Kansas too. And Nebraska. It's so relaxing driving around those states — but avoid the interstates. I avoid the interstates everywhere. Every state looks better when traveling off the interstate.

[VAFreedom]

wow i didn’t know he was sick.

[wildcard_redneck]

George Foreman was quite the man. He will be missed.

[jerod]

It was obviously his ‘Field of Dreams’. That movie was about baseball, but more importantly it was about being at peace with yourself and your surroundings.

[Flaming Conservative]

Well, okay, but if in Oklahoma, avoid The Cook son Hills. It’s rumored to be Deliverance type country. And that little town a mile or two north of Tulsa, Turley. Never go through there after dark.

[sopo]

There was a spreading tree over the corner of a parking lot in southern minnesota, i think i have the same kind of feeling abou that spot, that i’d like to return there wherever it was, though not really as a corpse.

[dfwgator]

‘If I had to do it all over again, I would have had two flags’

[eastforker]

I met George about 15 years ago at the local bank in Huffman Texas. He lived about a mile and a half from me. He was there to co-sign a note for his son to buy a car. I thought I had big hands but mine disappeared when I shook his,

[MayflowerMadam]

Sweet story.

[roving]

I used to live about 40 miles from the Iowa border. I did all my shopping there because it was cheaper.

[PGalt]

Thanks for posting. I’ve enjoyed peaceful locations like that. Upper Michigan being one of many. Driving through Iowa, the cornfields, the landscape is very appealing.

[PLMerite]

I drove through part of Kansas to get to where I am now. Beautiful. Flat, but beautiful.

[KierkegaardMAN]

I
Owe the
World an
Apology

I-O-W-A

[Cen-Tejas]

Wow, I would have loved to meet George. I think of Cassius Clay and my mind automatically switches to Patriot George!

[John Milner]

That spells: IOTWAA. Sounds more like Utah when you try to pronounce it.

[PGR88]

[PGR88]

[daniel1212]

The Testimony of George Foreman

A young man growing up in the wrong part of Houston became a bully. He would get in fights in school, in the neighborhood, and began mugging people to get spending money. He even beat up people just for the sake of doing it. He learned to box and became pretty good at it. He began to make a lot of money and could have almost anything he wanted. One day, during his training session for an upcoming bout, he heard his mom talking to his sister on the telephone about his favorite nephew. The young boy had had a seizure and now lay in a coma in the hospital. Doctors said he would probably die, but that if he came out of the coma he wouldn’t be able to move his limbs, or speak, or do any of the human functions we consider part of living.

He ran into the room where his mom was on the phone and shouted, “Momma, call the hospital and tell those doctors to give him the best of everything. Tell them I’ll take care of all the bills, to fly in the best doctors from wherever they have to. Tell them who I am, and that I’ll take care of everything—whatever it costs.” His mom spoke to the doctors, and then told him, “Son, you’re just going to have to pray.”

He realized then how grave the situation was. When someone tells you the only thing you can do is pray, things are looking pretty bad. Then it hit him. All of his money, his fame, his influence, his friends—none of that could solve this problem. It was out of his hands, out of the doctor’s hands, out of everyone’s hands. For the first time, he was totally powerless.

And for the first time, George Foreman dropped to his knees and prayed.

He wasn’t sure God existed, but he knew that when all else failed, people prayed. He asked God, if He really existed, to help his nephew. Then he got back in bed. A few seconds later, he got back on his knees and offered to give up all his wealth if God would heal his nephew. Then he got back in bed again. A few seconds later he got back on his knees a third time and got angry at God for letting this happen to his nephew, a child who hadn’t experienced life yet. George told God to take his life instead. Let the boy live and take George’s life instead. The next morning George’s sister called from the hospital. His nephew had woken up and could move his eyes, but the doctors said he wouldn’t ever walk again.

She called later that day, and the boy had begun moving his toes. The next day the boy was talking, and a week later he was on his way home, “walking, talking, and back to normal.” The doctors had no logical explanation. But George Foreman knew God had just given him a miracle.

Three months later in March 1977, George Foreman died in his locker room after fighting Jimmy Young. He collapsed in a heap, and entered what he describes as “a deep, dark void, like a bottomless pit.”

In his book, God in My Corner—A Spiritual Memoir, George wrote, “I knew I was dead, and that this wasn’t heaven. I was terrified, knowing I had no way out. Sorrow beyond description engulfed my soul, more than anyone could ever imagine. If you multiplied every disturbing and frightening thought that you’ve ever had during your entire life, that wouldn’t come close to the panic I felt. …

“I screamed with every ounce of strength in me, ‘I don’t care if this is death. I still believe in God.’

“Instantly, what seemed to be like a giant hand reached down and snatched me out of the terrifying place. Immediately, I was back inside my body in the dressing room.”

George accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior, and devoted himself to being a disciple of Jesus Christ. He realized his human power, his money, his prestige, were worthless in the next life, and meant to be used as tools to lead others to Jesus during this one.

He went on to win the Heavyweight Championship of the World twice. He was ordained as an evangelist in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ and became pastor of a small church. He also became involved in prison and hospital ministries.

You probably know him best for the George Foreman Grills that continue to sell around the world. And he recently baptized his own 23-year-old daughter who finally decided to dedicate her own life to Jesus.

That’s God’s idea of power.

- https://www.emeryhorvath.com/snippets/the-testimony-of-george-foreman/

[SuperLuminal]

A good guy in a good place...