Walter William Babl 1918-2007

BABL QUINN ROYER

Posted By: Connie J Swearingen (email)
Date: 2/17/2011 at 17:45:15

Walter W. Babl, 88, of Mapleton passed away Tuesday, February 13, 2007, in his hometown of Mapleton.

Services were Monday, February 19 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Mapleton with the Rev. Terry Roder officiating. Burial was in St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery, Mapleton, with military graveside honors by the American Legion Loren Hollister Post 496 of Mapleton. A vigil wake service was Sunday, February 18 at Armstrong Funeral Home in Mapleton.

Walter William Babl was born April 3, 1918, to William and Nellie (Quinn) Babl. His mother died when he was 8 months old, so Walter was raised by his paternal grandparents, Max and Victoria Babl.

Walter graduated from Mapleton High School in 1935. From 1936 through 1939, he attended Iowa State University majoring in electrical engineering. He returned to Mapleton to work for his father at Kraft Clothing Company, a retail store selling men’s and boy’s clothing and footwear.

Walter met Carolyn Royer, a Castana grade school teacher, in 1940. They were married in 1944 and celebrated 63 years together.

After working for the Army as a civilian from 1942 to 1943, Walter was drafted into the Army in 1943. He received training in Signal Corps and was assigned to the Pacific theater of World War II. He set up radio transmitters in New Guinea, the Philippines and finished his service by spending five months in Japan.

Walter returned to Mapleton in 1946 to work at Kraft Clothing and raise his family. In 1950, Mapleton’s National Guard unit was activated for the Korean War, and Walter was sent to Camp McCoy, Wis. He advanced to the rank of 1st sergeant with Battery “B” 194th Field Artillery Battalion and was commander of 150 troops.

After his discharge in 1951, Walter returned to his hometown and worked at Kraft Clothing until his retirement in 2001. He enjoyed more than 60 years in the Clothing business. The store was a big part of Walter’s life, and was one of the many ways he served his community.

Walter was a lifelong member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Mapleton. He was active in numerous community service organizations including Mapleton Club, Maple Valley Development Inc. (MVDI) and the Retail Committee. He had a special interest in promoting Mapleton’s business district and the town’s economic development activities. He loved to fly his airplane and learned how to ride a unicycle. Both of these activities Walter learned after the age of 50.

Survivors include his wife of 63 years, Carolyn Babl of Mapleton; four children, William Royer Babl, his wife Margaret (Mullin) Babl and their two children Michael and Emily of Plano, Texas, Beverly Hayney, her husband James Hayney of Camp Hill, Penn., and her children, Tamarine Cornelius, Kimbrin Cornelius and Quinn Cornelius, Karen Mowry, her husband Tom Mowry and their son, Samuel of Springdale, Ark., and John Babl, his wife Marcela (Quiros) Babl and their children, Laura Perez and Andrew Ignacio of Mapleton; and a great-granddaughter, Stella Heuring Cornelius of Madison, Wis.

Honorary pallbearers were Vernis Phillips, Delmond Scheer, Ed Henkenius, Ding LeFebvre, John Jacobs and Pirk Koenigs.

Pallbearers were Tom McNamara, Jerry Koenigs, Gary Thies, Ed Maier, Jerry Bumstead and Tom LeFebvre.

Memorials may be sent in care of MVDI, Box 164, Mapleton, Iowa 51034.