JOSEPH C. BREITBACH 1929-2003

BRIMEYER, BREITBACH, GUIMOND, KEMP, PINK, GASTON, BRAHM, HANSEN, OBRIEN, FROMMELT, KRUSE, SKINNER, WINTER, MUSEL

Posted By: Mary Durr (email)
Date: 2/1/2004 at 22:09:09

Joseph C. Breitbach

Telegraph Herald - Nov 21, 2003

Mr. Joseph C. "Joe" Breitbach, 74, of 2560 Green St., died at 10:42 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2003, at The Finley Hospital, Dubuque.

Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at St. Anthony's Catholic Church. Burial of the cremated remains will be at a later date. Military rites will be accorded by the American Legion, Dubuque Post 6. Friends may call from 3 to 8 p.m. today at Dennis Kitchen Funeral Home, 3860 Asbury Road, where there will be a wake service at 3:30 p.m.

Mr. Breitbach worked at the former Dubuque Packing Co., retiring in 1982. After retirement, he owned and operated Breitbach's Tri-State Coffee Service for five years. He then worked as a courier for Dubuque Bank & Trust for an additional four to five years.

He was born on April 22, 1929, in Balltown, Iowa, son of Leon and Claretta (Brimeyer) Breitbach. He married Liz Siepker on May 31, 1958, at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Dubuque.

He grew up in Balltown, and attended St. Francis School. He entered the Navy at age 15, where he completed his high school education, and served his country for eight years during World War II and the Korean Conflict.

He was a member of the Balltown Lion's Club, the American Legion, Dubuque Post 6 and the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 150A, where he served as a union steward for two terms.

Surviving are his former wife and friend, Liz Breitbach, of Dubuque; four sons, David (Cyndy) Breitbach, of Phoenix, Ariz., Steven (Jasmine) Breitbach, of Concord, Calif., and Brad (fiancee, Kim Nishihara) Breitbach and Keith Breitbach, both of Maui, Hawaii; two daughters, Lisa (Peter) Guimond and Anne Breitbach, both of Dubuque; five brothers, Peter (Rosemary) Breitbach, of El Paso, Texas, J. Paul (Frances) Breitbach, of Winston-Salem, N.C., Gerald (Gayle) Breitbach, of Maquoketa, Iowa, Larry (Diane) Breitbach, of Davenport, Iowa, and Charles (Donna) Breitbach, of Dubuque; eight sisters, Ann Kemp, of Des Moines, Mary (Jim) Pink, of Manchester, Iowa, Clare (Hugh) Gaston, of Wisconsin Dells, Wis., and Velma (Earl) Brahm, Shirley (Donald) Hansen, Carol O'Brien, Betty (Paul) Frommelt and Jeannie (Don) Kruse, all of Dubuque; five grandchildren, Christopher "C.J." Breitbach and Allison Guimond, both of Dubuque, Samantha and Felix Breitbach, both of Concord, and Ryan Skinner, of Phoenix; several aunts; and many nieces and nephews. He will especially miss the gang at McDonald's on Iowa Street.

He was preceded in death by his parents; a brother, Phillip, in infancy; and four brothers-in-law, Gerald Winter, Jim Kemp, Bernard Musel and John O'Brien.

In lieu of flowers, a Joseph C. Breitbach Memorial Fund has been established by the family.

The family would like to extend a special thank-you to the staff at The Finley Hospital, especially the nurses in the Intensive Care Unit, the Emergency Room and the Cardiac Rehab Center.