Joseph G. Engelken 1920-2014

ENGELKEN, OBERBROECKLING, DUNKEL, RECKER, MENSEN

Posted By: Cheryl Locher Moonen (email)
Date: 10/18/2016 at 09:59:24

Gazette, The (Cedar Rapids-Iowa City, IA) - Monday, March 24, 2014

Joseph G. Engelken
Manchester, IA
Dec 6, 1920 - Mar 22, 2014
Visitation Service Leonard-Muller Funeral Home - Manchester, Iowa. Scripture Service at 2:00 p.m.
Tuesday, March 25th, 2014 2:00pm to 8:00pm
Funeral Service St. Mary Catholic Church - Manchester, Iowa. Friends may call after 9:30 a.m. at the church on Wednesday.
Wednesday, March 26th, 2014 11:00am
Burial Service St. Mary Catholic Cemetery - Manchester, Iowa
Wednesday, March 26th, 2014

Joseph G. Engelken, 93, of Manchester, Iowa, died on Saturday, March 22, 2014, at the Regional Medical Center in Manchester. He was born on December 6, 1920, in Farley, the son of Bernard and Agatha (Oberbroeckling) Engelken. Joe was raised and educated in the Farley area.

Joe was drafted in the United States Army on October 17, 1942, and served honorably during WWII, receiving a Bronze Star while serving in the Phillippines. He was discharged on January 31, 1946.

On August 20, 1946, Joe was united in marriage to Viola Margaret Loeffelholz in Petersburg. Together they lived in the New Vienna/Petersburg area until 1957, when they moved to a farm near Greeley. They retired to Manchester in 1983. In addition to farming, Joe worked as a carpenter for Holtz Construction for 40 years. He enjoyed living at the Good Neighbor Home and considered it his home.

Joe loved fishing in Canada, playing cards, and putting puzzles together. He enjoyed his grandkids and great-grandkids. Joe was a 60-year member of the Greeley American Legion, a past-member of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Greeley, and currently a member of St. Mary Catholic Church.

Survivors include his five children, Ron (Gloria) Engelken of Elko, Minnesota, Wayne (Janet) Engelken of Greeley, Gary (Julie) Engelken of Manchester, Elaine (Dan) Dunkel of Covington, and Nancy (Mark) Recker of Cedar Rapids; 12 grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; two sisters-in-law, Karen Engelken of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, and Inez Engelken of Texas; a very special WWII Army buddy, Faye (Millie) Hendricks of Alcester, South Dakota; and many nieces and nephews.

Joe was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Viola on January 28, 2011; a son, Dean in 2005; and five siblings, Lawrence Engelken, Clarence Engelken, Mary Ann Mensen, Albert Engelken, and Don Engelken.