L.Gale Stickley(1926-2019)

STICKLEY

Posted By: Ken Wright (email)
Date: 11/13/2019 at 12:29:58

L. Gale Stickley, 93, of Maquoketa, Iowa, passed away on Tuesday morning, November 12, 2019, at Maquoketa Care Center in Maquoketa, Iowa.

A gathering of family and friends celebrating Gale's life will be held on Tuesday, November 19, 2019, from 4 to 7 P.M. at Carson Celebration of Life Center in Maquoketa. A private graveside service and burial will be held on Wednesday at Mount Hope Cemetery, Maquoketa.

Lester Gale Stickley was born on October 23, 1926 in Maquoketa, Iowa, to Irvie Lyle and Viva June (Edwards) Stickley. He was a 1945 graduate of Maquoketa High School. He married Donna June Felten on April 17, 1949 at the Little Brown Church in Nashua, Iowa. To this union three children were born, Diane, Duane and Beth.

Gale always wanted to be a farmer but after hurting his back, he decided to attend Coyne Electrical and Refrigeration Trade School in 1948. He then came back to Maquoketa and started an electrical business in partnership with Al Thola in 1948. Six months later, he bought his partner out and opened Stickley Electric on North Main Street. In 1958, he moved his business out to the old Fisher and Tractor repair building on Western Avenue, where the business is currently run by his son, Duane today.

Gale was a member of the Coronado Car Club, and the Knights of Pythias Lodge. He was a charter member of the Joinerville Boat Club in Sabula and a lifetime member of the Maquoketa Fire Department. He enjoyed golfing with one of his proudest moments being a hole-in-one. He also enjoyed playing Euchre, getting together with his friends for coffee, remodeling and restoring antique cars and tractors, going on camping trips with friends at Joinerville Boat Club and Leisure Lake, and taking cross country trips in his antique cars with the Lincoln Highway Tour Group. Additionally, he loved to watch westerns, whether it was TV shows like Ponderosa or John Wayne movies. He would often get up early in the morning on days it snowed and plow the Methodist Church and neighbor's driveways. He also volu