Karl Heinrich Christian Witzel 1909-2002

WITZEL UNGER BOECHER

Posted By: Connie Swearingen (email)
Date: 10/17/2009 at 15:24:57

Sioux City Journal
14 June 2002

MAPLETON, Iowa -- Karl Witzel, 92, of Mapleton died Wednesday, June 12, 2002, at a Sioux City hospital.

Services will be 10:30 a.m. Saturday at St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Mapleton, with the Rev. Scott Fiege officiating. Burial will be in Mount Hope Cemetery. Visitation will be after 2 p.m. today, with a prayer service at 7 p.m., at Armstrong Funeral Home in Mapleton.

Karl Heinrich Christian Albert Witzel was born Nov. 14, 1909, in Hasselfelde, Braunschweig, Germany, the son of Franz Paul Friedrich Christian and Wilhelina Dorothea Christine (Unger) Witzel. He came to the United States on a ship in 1930, then traveled by train to Iowa. He worked on his uncle's farm north of Bronson, Iowa.

On Aug. 1, 1934, Karl was united in marriage to Emilie Boecher in Dakota City. She had come to America from Germany on the same ship as Karl, but two years apart. The couple farmed and raised their family east of Castana, Iowa. He retired from that work and moved to Mapleton in 1977. He then worked at Timber Ridge and Straub Lumber. His beloved wife, Emilie, died Jan. 29, 1993.

He was confirmed in the Lutheran faith while in Hasselfelde, Germany and later became a member of St. Matthew Lutheran Church. He enjoyed gardening, fishing, playing cards and woodworking, but his greatest pride was shown in his family.

Those survivors left to cherish Karl's memory include three sons and their wives, Hans and Lavone and K. Ernest and Dora, all of Castana, and Richard and Colleen of Eugene, Ore.; two daughters, Nancy and her husband, Mel Domina, of Omaha and Betty Deardoff of Bennington, Neb.; 20 grandchildren; 36 great-grandchildren; two great-great-grandchildren; a sister, Elizabeth Wilke of Muggendorf, Germany; along with other relatives, neighbors and good friends.

In addition to his wife, he was also preceded in death by his parents; a son, Robert; four brothers, three sisters and a grandson.