Straks, Hubert 1917-2000

STRAKS, VIS, DEVRIES

Posted By: Wilma J. Vande Berg - volunteer (email)
Date: 2/14/2012 at 06:46:12

Hubert Straks
SHELDON, Iowa - Hubert Gerald Straks, 83, of Sheldon died Sunday, June 18, 2000, at the Northwest Iowa Health Center in Sheldon. Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the Bethel Reformed Church in Sheldon with the Rev. Dorothy Straks officiating. Burial will be in the East Lawn Cemetery on Thursday at 9:30 a.m. Visitation will be after 2 p.m. today, with the family present from 7 to 8 p.m. at Vander Ploeg Funeral Home.
Mr. Straks was born April 21, 1917, in Gibbsville, Wis., the son of John and Elizabeth (Vis) Straks. He moved to Maurice, Iowa, in 1920. He graduated from Maurice High
School and then from Central College in Pella, Iowa, with a degree n Business Administration, he was employed by the Engineering ~ Department of the Milwaukee
Railroad. He married Nelly DeVries on Oct. 30, 1943 in Orange City, Iowa. He was in the U.S. Army during World War II, including two years in the European Theater of Operations. He was in the U.S. Army Reserves and retired with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel on April 21, 1977, after 28 years of service. He was employed by Bowers Clothing in Le Mars, Iowa, for 11 ears. In 1957 he bought a clothing store in Sheldon and managed Straks Clothing until his retirement in February, 1979. He was active in church work, serving as elder, catechism teacher, and choir member. He was active in he Sheldon community, serving terms as president of the Chamber of Commerce, the Sheldon Industrial Development Commission, the noon Kiwanis Club, and the Sheldon Hospital Board. He served as chair of the Sheldon Community Chest and on the Sheldon Zoning Board of Appeals. In 1969 he was named the Sheldon Man of the Year. He was a member of the American Legion and the Sheldon Country Club. He enjoyed golfing, fishing, deer hunting and spending winters in Tucson after his retirement.
Survivors include his wife; a son and his wife, Jerry and Dorothy Straks of Snoquatmie, Wash.; two daughters and their husbands, Barbara and Dennis Kuyper of Creston, Iowa and Rachel and
Steven Nelson of Joice, Iowa; six grandchildren, Sarah and Mark Straks, Andy and Amy Kuyper, and Eric and Jennifer Nelson; a sister, Eunice De Jong of Denver; and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, two sisters and two nieces.
Source: Sioux County Capital Democrat of June 29, 2000.