ROOFF, Leo P. 1922-2004
ROOFF, ACKERMAN, HATZKY, SHROYER, FRIESEN, PAULSEN
Posted By: S. Bell
Date: 5/10/2012 at 19:18:16
Leo P. Rooff, 81, of Waterloo died Tuesday, January 6, 2004 at Covenant Medical Center. He was born May 24, 1922 in Waterloo, Iowa the son of John and Gladys (Ackerman) Rooff.
He graduated from West High School in 1940. He served in the United States Marine Corp and the U.S. Navy during WW II. He married Lois Burdine June 10, 1945 in Chicago, Illinois.
Leo owned Rooff Construction, he was a member of the Black Hawk County Board of Supervisors for 5 years, the Mayor of Waterloo for 10 years, and retired from the National Bank of Waterloo. He was a very devoted man; devoted to God, his family his country, and his city.
Leo is survived by his wife Lois; 3 daughters: Becky Hatzky of Waterloo; Barbara Shroyer and her husband Don of North Liberty, Iowa; and Robin Friesen and her husband Jeff of Greeley, Colorado.
He is survived by 6 grandchildren Dan and Jenn Huting of Iowa City and their son Steven; Regan and Bart Bishop of Lee Summit, Missouri and their children Blake, Abby, Jesse, and Jayden, Judd Hatzky of Bloomington, Illinois, Casey Willhite, Tyler Friesen and Whitney Friesen of Greeley, Colorado.
Leo is preceded in death by his parents, 3 brothers John Bus, Harold Hap,and James Pat, and a sister Thelema Paulsen.
[Source: Locke Funeral Home]
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[Waterloo Courier, Sunday, January 11, 2004]
Pat Kinney, Assistant City EditorFORMER MAYOR EULOGIZED AS MAN OF COMPASSION AND LEADERSHIP
WATERLOO - Leo Rooff once commented to be mayor of Waterloo, one had to be prepared to devote every waking moment to the job "except for a crisis in your immediate family."
To the 500-plus family and friends who attended his memorial service Friday, he exceeded his own standard - not only as a mayor, but as a husband, father and as a man.
He was proud of the "bridges" he built in the community - "not just the bridges of steel and concrete; the bridges he made between people. That is his greatest legacy," the Rev. Dr. Scott Paczkowski of Westminster Presbyterian Church said during the service.
Rooff, 81, the rough-hewn son of a Bulgarian immigrant construction contractor, became one of the most respected mayors in Waterloo's history. He served from 1974 to 1984 and died Tuesday at Covenant Medical Center of natural causes.
He was one of three longest-serving mayors in city history.
"One thing Leo was proudest of was that he was the mayor of Waterloo," Paczkowski said. "He wasn't the mayor of the west side. He wasn't mayor of the east side. He wasn't the mayor of the Republicans. He wasn't the mayor of the Democrats or of this constituency or that.
"He was everyone's mayor."
According to Paczkowski and Rooff's daughter, Robin Friesen of Greeley Colo., the longtime mayor was able to meet with a group of disgruntled neighborhood residents, yet find time to attend his daughters' school activities. He would come home exhausted after a day of wrangling with state officials and be out in the back yard for a family cookout the next day.
Because of her dad, Friesen said, "I could tie a tie, play 1,000 different kinds of solitaire, swing a hammer.
"And, of course, cuss a blue streak if I missed," she said, drawing laughter at the reference to her dad's vernacular capacity.
"You all know that," Friesen said.
Because of her father's influence, "I can make a bologna sandwich. I can forgive and forget. I can listen to and help those who are less fortunate than I am. … And never, never give up."
Reading a poem, Friesen compared her father to a stately tree, which finally falls, only to make room and give life to new trees that grow from its seeds.
Despite the demands, Rooff was there for his family, Paczkowski said.
"I know how difficult that must have been, because if you're giving of yourself to your community the way he would - in business as a (county) supervisor, as mayor - everybody thinks they have a piece of you. And the squeaky wheel always gets the oil," he said.
"But with all those squeaky wheels, he still had time for Becky. He still had time for Barbara. He still had time for Robin," his daughters, and for his wife, Lois, whose demanding role as a "community wife" should not be forgotten.
"He prioritized, and he knew where his allegiances were," Paczkowski said.
Rooff also had allegiances to Waterloo, he said. He was firm, even stubborn, in his decisions, but they were made only after careful consideration.
"He showed this community that he was not going to be wishy-washy, that he believed in something, and he would stand by his decisions," Paczkowski said. "And sometimes that's even more important than whether you're right or wrong.
"And in a political age where people don't make decisions until they look to see what the polls say, we can learn a lot from this local politician about how to stand for something and stand behind something."
Rooff's role as a father and father-figure was reaffirmed by his family and the community, Paczkowski said. The city prospered through his early years in office.
"In the late '70s and early '80s things started to fall down. You still elected him. You didn't blame him or scapegoat him for things that were beyond him," he said. "But what was so neat was you then relied on him all the more."
Rooff had an open-door policy and made time for people - even his critics.
"He would go anywhere in the city, and he would talk to anyone who wanted to hear. And he would listen to anyone who wanted to talk," Paczkowski said.
Even during times of controversy and racial unrest, "there was nowhere in this town Leo didn't have the courage to go, no one he was too good to talk to."
Rooff respected every constituent, Paczkowski said.
"Not because they had a vote but because they had a soul and a mind and a heart. That is the kind of respectful, faithful integrity I wish we all had, and I wish we all shared with the passion that Leo Rooff had."
Black Hawk Obituaries maintained by Karen De Groote.
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