GORMAN LEE SNITKER 1949-1987

HANGARTNER, SNITKER, SPINNER, BARNHOUSE, VAUPEL, ASCHBACHER, FELKE, ELDRIDGE, HUGHES

Posted By: Mary Durr (email)
Date: 9/29/2007 at 09:03:49

GORMAN LEE SNITKER 1949-1987

Gorman Lee Snitker, 37, of Wellman, Iowa died Friday, July 31 at University Hospitals in Iowa City as the result of an electrical accident which occurred near Riverside, Iowa.

Funeral services were held Monday, Aug. 3, 1987, 10 a.m. in St. Joseph Catholic Church, Wellman. Rev. Nicholas Adam officiated. A graveside service was held Monday, Aug. 3 at 4:00 p.m. at the Frankville Cemetery, rural Postville. Rev. Gordon Smedsrud officiated. The Powell Funeral Home of Wellman and Schutte Funeral Service of Postville was in charge of arrangements.

He was born September 3, 1949 at Decorah, Iowa to Wesley and Marie (Hangartner) Snitker. He graduated from Postville High School in 1967. Gorman served in the U. S. Army from 1969 to 1971, serving in Vietnam during that time. He grew up in Frankville and lived in Cedar Rapids, Marion and Keota and had been a resident of Wellman for the past 7 years. He had been employed as a power lineman for Iowa Southern Utilities. He was a member of the Wellman Fire Department.

April 19, 1969 he married Pamela Spinner of Postville.

He is preceded in death by his mother, Marie, and a sister Janet.

Surviving is his wife, Pamela; a daughter, Amy Jo; a son, Jason Alan, both at home; his father, Wesley and his step-mother, Emma; 5 brothers, Gary of Cody, Wyoming; Gayle of Belle, Missouri; Grant of Waukon, Iowa; Greg of Phoenix, Arizona and Gordon of Decorah, Iowa; 6 sisters, Judy (Mrs. Fred Barnhouse) of Marion; Kathy (Mrs. Charles Vaupel) of Allentown, Pennsylvania; Karen (Mrs. Floyd Aschbacher, Jr.) of Decorah; Sandy (Mrs. Leon Felke) of Decorah; Karla Eldridge of Marion and Patti Hughes of Postville.

Casket bearers were Bernie Klostermann, Randy Kelley, Ronald Berg, Allen Feickert, Robert Jacob, Doug Slaubaugh, Neal Van Horn, Lloyd Feickert.

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Correction to the above obituary from Pam (Snitker) Bender on Dec 1, 2006:

I would like to make a correction to the information in this obituary. Gorman was my husband and, although he served in the US Army during the Vietnam war, he stayed in the States and was never in Vietnam as stated here.

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GORMAN SNITKER ELECTROCUTED

Gorman Lee Snitker, 37, son of Mr. and Mrs. Wesley Snitker, Postville, died Friday when his truck came in contact with a transmission line on Highway 218, 1 1/2 miles east of Riverside about 10:30 a.m.

A co-worker told authorities that Snitker had been attempting to place outriggers to stabilize the utility truck when the truck's auger boom came into contact with the line of a utility pole. The power traveled through the boom and truck, striking Snitker as he stood nearby.

Snitker was pronounced dead at 11:37 a.m. at University Hospitals, where he had been flown by Air Care helicopter.

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Both of these clippings are from the Postville Herald newspaper and my mother's obituary collection.