Fokken, Carl "Babe" Jr. 1918-2003

FOKKEN, BEHRENS, WENRICH

Posted By: Linda Ziemann, Volunteer (email)
Date: 6/7/2007 at 21:35:04

KINGSLEY, Iowa -- Carl "Babe" Fokken Jr., 84, of Kingsley passed away Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2003, at Countryside Retirement Home in Sioux City.

Services will be 11 a.m. Friday at United Methodist Church in Kingsley, with the Rev. Paul Evans officiating. Burial will be in Kingsley Cemetery. Visitation will be after 2 p.m. today, with the family present 6 to 8 p.m., at Rohde-Earnest Funeral Home in Kingsley. Visitation will resume one hour prior to the service Friday at the church.

Carl Frederick Fokken Jr. was born Dec. 10, 1918, on his parents' farm near Kingsley, the son of Carl Frederick and Dora (Behrens) Fokken Sr. He graduated from Kingsley High School in 1937. He later attended Morningside College in Sioux City and the University of Iowa in Iowa City. Following his education, he moved to Neenah, Wis., where he was employed with Kimberly-Clark Corporation.

He married Dorothy Wenrich on Nov. 29, 1941, in Oshkosh, Wis. The couple made their home in Neenah and he began working as an agent with State Farm Insurance. In 1951, the family returned to the family farm near Kingsley. In 1964, they moved to Sioux City, where he worked with the Farmer's Insurance Group. He later worked with the Stockyard's Insurance, retiring in 1983. Dorothy passed away on Oct. 26, 1988.

He married Laverne Johnson in 1991. They made their home in Menasha, Wis. The couple enjoyed traveling throughout the world. Laverne passed away on Nov. 20, 2002. He remained in Sioux City. For the past week, he had been living at Countryside Retirement Home.

He was a member of Abu Bekr Shrine Temple and the Masonic Lodge. He was an avid golfer, bowler and outdoorsman. As a young man, he was an all-state football and baseball player. He was an Iowa and Green Bay Packers fan.

He will be lovingly remembered by his three daughters and their husbands, Karen and David Bainbridge of Kingsley, Susan and Terry DeJong of Sioux City and Carla and Michael Chilton of Sioux City; eight grandchildren; five great-grandsons; five sisters, Florence Turkington of Kingsley, Pearl Fokken of Kingsley, Della Delperdang of Kingsley, Velma and her husband, William Boutwell, of Biloxi, Miss., and Norma Paulin of Placerville, Calif.; an aunt, Emma Fokken of Kingsley; and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his wives, Dorothy and Laverne; and a brother, William.

~source: The Sioux City Journal