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Cocking, Harold W. 1917-2007

COCKING, SMITH, HOERLER, BARNS, PRULL

Posted By: Marilyn Holmes
Date: 6/15/2017 at 17:04:37

The Grinnell (IA) Herald-Register
Aug. 30, 2007

HAROLD W. COCKING

Harold Cocking, 89, of Grinnell died Friday, Aug. 24, 2007, in the Monarch Wing of Skiff Medical Center in Newton.

A funeral service was held Tuesday, Aug. 28, at Grinnell Christian Church with John Epperson, pastor of the church, officiating. Organist was Jolene Jones; pianist, Lorna Lang, and vocalist, Marlene Toney. Pallbearers were James Cocking, Chad Cocking, Brian Barns, Michael Barns, Aaron Cocking, Shane Cocking and Jeremy Cocking. Burial was in Erie Cemetery, Erie, Ill. Memorials may be made to Grinnell Christian Church.

The son of Robert James and Elva Lena Smith Cocking, he was born Sept. 14, 1917, in Erie, Ill. He was raised in Erie and was a 1935 graduate of Erie High School. He was a veteran of the United States Army during World War II, serving as a corporal with the 210th Field Artillery Battalion in the Pacific Theater. He was married on Aug. 9, 1947, to Cheryl Arlene Hoerler in Erie. The couple lived in Erie; Elizabeth, Ill., Mount Morris, Ill., and Tipton, Iowa, prior to moving to Grinnell in 1960. He drove an oil truck for Farm Service of Whiteside County in Erie and also farmed near Erie for nine years. He later was manager of the Farm Bureau Livestock Cooperatives in Elizabeth and Oregon, Ill., then was assistant manager of the Tipton Cooperative before becoming manager in Grinnell. He was an insurance salesman for Life of Kentucky for one year, then was employed as a carpenter in Grinnell for Hotchkin Construction, later with Thompson and Adams Construction. He also did carpentry work for family and friends. In 1965 he began working for the City of Grinnell as water-plant operator, retiring in 1982.

He was a member of Grinnell Christian Church, serving as an elder and building and grounds chairman, both for many years. He was a lifetime member of the Erie Masonic Lodge #667, and a member of the Christian Evangelistic Mission Committee in Iowa for nine years. He enjoyed volunteering his carpenter skills in building churches in Iowa.

He received the Outstanding Servant-Leadership Award in Kingdom Work for the State of Iowa from the Iowa Christian Convention on Nov. 14, 1989.

He is survived by his wife, Cheryl of Grinnell; two sons, James Cocking of Des Moines and Kent Cocking of State Center; one daughter, Sherri Barns of Cedar Rapids; seven grandchildren and ten great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents; two brothers, Kenneth and Richard in infancy, and one sister, Lucille Prull.


 

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