Dr. Kenneth Lawrence 'Doc' Fettkether, 02 Mar 1930 – 24 Nov 2021

FETTKETHER, WOLFE, BURNS, FULKS, DORN, STANLEY, BAUERLY, SALFI, SHERWOOD

Posted By: Ken Wright (email)
Date: 11/27/2021 at 08:48:10

Dr. Kenneth L. "Doc" Fettkether, 91, of Marengo, passed away Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2021, at Highland Ridge Care Center, Williamsburg. Per Kenneth's wishes, his body was donated to the University of Iowa. A memorial service will be held at a later date. Kloster Funeral Home, Marengo, is assisting the family with arrangements.

Kenneth Lawrence Fettkether was born on March 2, 1930 in Cedar County, Iowa, to Louis and Izel Wolfe Fettkether. As a young child, the family moved to Dubuque County. Kenneth grew up the son of a butter maker and learned the trade throughout his years as a student in Dubuque County country school and graduated with the class of 1946 from St. Clements High School in Bankston, Iowa. Shortly after graduation, he became a butter maker in West Liberty.

In 1951, Kenneth was drafted into the U.S. Marine Corp, serving in San Diego and at the Itamia Air Force Base in Osaka, Japan. He served as an airplane hydraulic mechanic. In November 1953, soon after his discharge, he married Lois Ann Burns on November 21, 2021, who was waiting for his return. The couple immediately moved to Black Hawk County and began farming in rural Fairbank.

The fall of 1955, he enrolled in the pre-vet program at Iowa State University in Ames and was accepted into the Veterinary school in the summer of 1957. Soon after graduation in 1961 from ISU, the family located to Marengo. After practicing veterinary medicine for about 25 years, Doc opened a furniture shop and built fine furniture from the local hard woods. His furniture can be found in many states and a few foreign countries. During this time, he attended auctioneers school and operated the Colonel Doctor Auction in Marengo. Doc retired in 2009 when he sold his furniture shop.

Ken is survived by his wife of 68 years, Lois; their six children, Rebecca (Phillip) Fulks of Odessa, Mo.; Jeanette (Charles) Dorn of Cour de Alene, Idaho, Lawrence (Christine) Fettkether of Williamsburg, Joseph (Charlna Stanley) Fettkether of St. Louis, Mo., Ramona Bauerly of The Colony, Texas, and Martha (Russell) Salfi of Sister Bay, Wis.; nine grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and a sister-in-law, Mary Alice Fettkether of Dyersville.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Louis and Izel Fettkether; two brothers, Howard and Donald, both of Dyersville; a great-granddaughter, Kennedi Sherwood; a son-in-law, William Bauerly; and a sister-in-law, Bonnie Fettkether.

Published in The Hometown Current on December 1, 2021, an abbreviated version published in The Gazette on November 27, 2021.

Online condolences: www.klosterfuneralhome.com