CULLEN, Alexander R. (1927-2005)

CULLEN, THOMPSON, POLAND, HARDIN, SQUIER, SEABURG, HONNOLD, SUTHERLAND, GUNTON, LARSON

Posted By: Hancock Co Genealogical Society (email)
Date: 3/10/2016 at 18:37:16

Dr. A. R. Cullen, 1927-2005

November 9, 2005

Dr. A. R. "Doc" Cullen, of Crystal Lake, died on Thursday, November 3, 2005, at the Hancock County Memorial Hospital in Britt. He was 78.

Funeral services were held on Saturday, November 5, 2005, at the Crystal Lake United Methodist Church. The Rev. Charles Wallace officiated. Music was provided by pianist, David Earp who accompanied congregational hymns. James Hobbes and Kenny Sorenson ushered.

Honorary casket bearers were Clyde Hobbs, Dave Anderson and Donald Cottington. Casketbearers were Adam Helm, Cody Helm, Kirk Helm, Justin Squier, Michael Hardin and Larry Kunkel. Burial was in the Crystal Lake Cemetery. The Ewing-Dugger Funeral Home of Britt was in charge of the arrangements.

Dr. A. R. Cullen, was born in Boone County on February 17, 1927, to Walter and Margaret Thomson Cullen, who emigrated from Scotland in the early 1900s. He was the youngest of five children, and he was particularly proud of his Scottish ancestry.

He attended the Luther High School in Boone, and after graduation, served in the Navy near the end of WW II. In 1951 he graduated from the School of Veterinary Medicine at Iowa State College in Ames. He remained an avid Cyclone fan for all of his life.

He married Joan Poland in July of 1946 at the United Methodist Church in Luther. From this marriage came four children, David, Lynn, Dan and Eric, who filled Doc's life with pleasure and pride.

He practiced veterinary medicine in Boone and Forest City before establishing his own practice in Crystal Lake, in 1955. In 1978 he retired from veterinary medicine and began his life as a farmer.

During his life Doc was Past Master of the Masonic Truth Lodge No. 213 in Forest City, President and long time member of the Woden-Crystal Lake School Board and actively involved in forming the Crystal Lake Development Corporation. Doc enjoyed his family, coffee with friends, reading, woodworking and carving, fishing and crossword puzzles. He spent hours keeping his shop and tools tidy and in good repair.

He is survived by Jo, his wife, partner and best friend; his brother, Walter Cullen and his wife, Marian of Alexandria, Virginia; four children, David Cullen and his wife, Sue of Bozeman, Montana, Lynn Cullen of Atascadero, California, Dan Cullen and his wife, Mary Hardin of Mason City and Eric Cullen of Des Moines; his beloved grandchildren, Chelsey and Hailey Cullen, Michael Hardin and his wife, Kirsten, Christin Squier and her husband, Justin, Maggie Seaburg; and his new great-granddaughter, Sidney Grace.

Survivors also include his nieces, Teresa Honnold, Margaret Sutherland and Janet Honnold; a nephew, Steve Cullen; and other family members and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents: Walter and Margaret Cullen; his brother, Gilbert Cullen; his sisters, Janet Gunton and Mary Honnold; and his nephew, Philip Larson.

©The Garner Leader & Signal 2005