Cecil Ernest Gongwer 1920-2009

GONGWER, PETERSEN, JOHNSON, LEFEBVRE

Posted By: Melissa Mayhew Grandt <melissa@grandtfamily.com>
Date: 7/7/2009 at 14:19:40

West Branch Times, West Branch (Cedar Co.), Iowa, 1 July 2009.

Cecil Ernest Gongwer, 89, Elk Grove, Calif.

Cecil Ernest Gongwer passed away peacefully in Elk Grove, Calif., on June 11, 2009, at the age of 89.

Cecil was born on a farm in West Branch, Iowa, on April 11, 1920, to L.G. and Nellie Gongwer.

He attended elementary school here and graduated from West Branch High School, where he played football, basketball, wrestling and baseball.

He was married to Dorothy Petersen on April 19, 1939. The had five children. They ran a farm at several locations near West Branch. He and Dorothy enjoyed going to the football games of the Iowa Hawkeyes.

In 1946, the Gongwers bought the Hoover Restaurant and Hotel on Main Street and ran it for five years. Cecil then became a welder, the occupation that he would continue until retirement.

He moved with his family to Southern California in 1953 after visiting his sister and enjoying the mild weather. He loved having barbeques on Sundays with the family, was an avid bowler and faithfully listened to the “farm report.”

The Gongwers took driving trips back to Iowa in the summers to visit relatives. After retirement, he spent time watching the Hawkeyes and local teams on TV, his grandchildren’s sporting events and their musical programs. He attended church with his family in Arcadia. Dorothy and Cecil celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 1989 before he lost Dorothy to cancer in 1990.

Cecil is survived by his children, Janet Johnson, Robert Gongwer (Terry), James Gongwer (Mary) and Jane Lefebvre (Gary); 11 grandchildren; 25 great-grandchildren and a host of extended family and friends.

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