ONKEN, Arthur Henry 1923-2018

ONKEN, RADEMACHER, MEDLIN

Posted By: County Coordinator
Date: 3/25/2024 at 10:15:38

U.S. VETERAN

Died: January 09, 2018

Arthur Henry Onken, age 94, of Osage, Iowa, died Tuesday, January 9, 2018, at Osage Rehabilitation and Health Care Center in Osage.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, January 13, 2018, at the Champion-Bucheit Funeral Home in Osage with Rev. Roy Ott officiating. Burial will be in the Osage Cemetery with military honors at the grave by Osage American Legion Post 278. Visitation will be from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. Saturday at the Champion-Bucheit Funeral Home.

Arthur was born December 21, 1923, in Charles City, Iowa, the son of Enno J. Onken and Jennie Belle (Rademacher) Onken. He was baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran faith and attended school in Orchard, Iowa. As a teenager, Arthur worked for Earl and Grace Squier farming and raising turkeys.

He served in the U.S. Naval Reserve from September, 1942, to October, 1945. Arthur graduated from Great Lakes Electrical School and was stationed in Pearl Harbor for two years doing submarine battery repair work.

In 1945, he was married to Delores Medlin in Chicago. They had one son, Eugene LeRoy Onken. On February 21, 1948, he married Betty Jean Lezotte in Dubuque, Iowa, in a double ceremony with Edward and Evelyn Squier. They made their home in Osage. Arthur took a three year G.I. Training Course in tractor and truck repair from Cliff Lewis and worked for Chatman Implement.

He also worked for thirty years for L.R. Falk Construction Company until he retired in April, 1981. Arthur liked to camp and was a member of The Happy Sams and Wig Wam Campers Club. He was a member of Osage American Legion Post 278 and of the Disabled American Veterans.

Arthur is survived by his son Gene Onken and girlfriend, Susan Bobus, of Niles, Michigan; three grandchildren, Dawn, Staci and Matthew, and their families of Niles, Michigan, as well as several great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. Also surviving is his sister, Donna Onken of Omaha, Nebraska, and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Betty in 2003; his sisters, Martha, Dorothy and Jennie; and brothers, Walter, John, Edward, George, Eno, Keith, Frank and James.

Champion-Bucheit Funeral Home 641-732-3706

SOURCE: Champion-Bucheit Funeral Home website