Hefel, Leon A. "Barney" 1947-2008

HEFEL, ERRTHUM, SUCHANEK, MCCUE, GIBSON, MOSER, MCGUIRE, LATTEYER, FORD, ADAMS, BREITBACH

Posted By: Barbara Gehlsen Nugent (email)
Date: 1/18/2014 at 22:10:35

Behr's Funeral Home obituary

Leon A. "Barney" Hefel, age 60, of 1289 W. 5th St., died peacefully at 11:06 a.m. Tuesday, August 19, 2008, surrounded by family, at The Finley Hospital, Dubuque, following an 8-year battle with colorectal cancer.

Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, North Buena Vista, Iowa.

Burial will be in Immaculate Conception Cemetery, North Buena Vista.
Friends may call from 2:00 to 8:00 p.m. Friday at Behr Funeral Home, 1491 Main St., where there will be a parish wake service at 7:30 p.m. Friends also may call after 9:30 a.m. Saturday at the church.

Leon was born on September 30, 1947, in North Buena Vista, Iowa, son of Thomas and Florence (Errthum) Hefel.

Barney was a 1966 graduate of Holy Cross Leo High School. He married the love of his life, Sandra Lee Suchanek, on Sept. 16, 1978, at her parent's home in Dubuque, and later at Nativity Catholic Church. He was formerly employed at John Deere Dubuque Works until his retirement in October 2003. Barney was a member of United Auto Workers Local 94 and Nativity Catholic Church. Barney was a gentle and kind man and never said a bad word about anyone. If anyone needed help on the farms, Barney would help with anything, from raking hay to driving a tractor. He was a farm boy at heart, but he lived in the city for his wife. Barney loved to spend time with his family, especially his grandson and buddy, Cal. They would baby-sit each other! Barney was especially proud of the fact that he had been sober for more than 20 years. He was an avid Iowa Hawkeyes, Denver Broncos and Dale Earnhardt Jr. fan and was a closet "Cubs" fan.

Barney will be missed by his family and his faithful dog for 5 years, Sammie Sue.

Survivors: his devoted wife of 30 years, Sandra L. Hefel;
a daughter, Rebecca L. (Joe) McCue, of Dubuque;
2 sons, Frank J. Hefel, NAS Naval Station, Jacksonville, Fla.,
Terry L. Gibson, of Auburn, Calif.;
a grandson, Cal Owen McCue, of Dubuque;
his mother-in-law, Collette Suchanek, of Dubuque;
3 sisters, Catherine "Kate" Moser, of Guttenberg, Iowa,
Evelyn (Jim) McGuire, of Dyersville, Iowa,
Norma (John) Latteyer, of Shellsburg, Iowa;
5 brothers, Raymond Hefel, of Apache Junction, Ariz.,
Emmet (Darlene) Hefel, of Dubuque,
Lester (Leila) Hefel, of North Buena Vista,
Bob (Jeanie) Hefel, of Sageville, Iowa,
Dan (Sue) Hefel, of Guttenberg, Iowa;
3 sisters-in-law, Geri Hefel, of North Buena Vista, Iowa,
Marge Hefel, of Balltown, Iowa,
Sharon Hefel, of Guttenberg, Iowa;
many nieces and nephews;
his godchildren, Jessica Ford and Carl Hefel Jr.
his best friends, Tony and Mona Adams, of Garnavillo, Iowa;

He was preceded in death by his parents; 4 brothers, Leonard (Marie), Carl, Thomas and Gerald Hefel; a sister, Ruth Ann (Pat) Breitbach; a sister-in-law, Joyce Hefel; and his father-in-law, Frank J. Suchanek.

A Leon A. "Barney" Hefel Memorial Fund has been established.

The family would like to thank Dr. Mark Hermann, the nurses and staff of Dubuque Internal Medicine, the fifth floor Oncology nurses and staff at The Finley Hospital and the Dubuque Fire Department Paramedics for their care and concern for Barney and the family. A very sincere thank-you to Lynn Nagel for her constant love and attention.