Suckow, William J., 1859-1939

SUCKOW, KLUCKHOHN, SWINDLE, LEVERENCE, VANFLEET

Posted By: Lydia Lucas - Volunteer (email)
Date: 6/13/2021 at 20:33:38

From the Hawarden Independent, April 13, 1939:

REV. SUCKOW DIED LAST WEEK
Pioneer Hawarden Minister Passed Away at Alden, Iowa, April 4th

Rev. William J. Suckow, for 50 years a prominent Congregational minister in Iowa and pastor of the Congregational church in Hawarden for a number of years in the late 80’s and early 90’s, passed away at his home at Alden, Iowa, on Tuesday, April 4th, according to a newspaper report. Rev. Suckow was 77 years of age and had held a pastorate at Alden for the past ten years.

Rev. Suckow came to Hawarden as a young minister and after a few years here accepted a call to LeMars but after serving there only a year or two again returned to Hawarden for a brief pastorate. He left Hawarden with his family in the late 90’s, going from here to Algona. He subsequently held pastorates at Davenport and other places. He was a brilliant pulpit orator and took an active interest in all civic affairs in the early days in Hawarden.

His wife was in frail health even during the time that they resided in Hawarden and preceded him in death many years, although he subsequently married again. His eldest daughter, Emma, also passed away after attaining young womanhood. His youngest daughter, Ruth, was born in Hawarden and has become one of America’s most widely known writers and novelists. She is now Mrs. Ferner Nuhn and resides at Cedar Falls, Iowa. Rev. Suckow and daughter Ruth made their last visit to Hawarden during the summer of 1927 at which time they were honor guests at a homecoming celebration.

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From the Hawarden Independent, April 20, 1939:

SERVED 56 YEARS IN MINISTRY
Rev. Suckow Was Oldest Active Congregational Minister in Iowa

The Independent last week made mention of the death of Rev. W. J. Suckow, a former pastor of the Congregational church in Hawarden, which occurred at his home at Alden, Iowa, on April 4th. The following more complete obituary was published by the Sheldon Mail:

“Rev. W. J. Suckow, 79, an early day Methodist preacher in Sheldon and father of the novelist, Ruth Suckow, passed away suddenly at his home at Alden, Iowa, last week, Tuesday, April 4. Funeral services were held the following Thursday with burial at Cedar Falls.

“William John Suckow was born October 25, 1859 in Albany, New York. In 1869 the family moved to Iowa and first farmed in northeastern Iowa near Elkport and McGregor. In 1878 they moved again, this time to the open prairies in Hancock county near Klemme.

“His formal education, as in the case of all pioneer families, was not great but he studied for the ministry in an academy in Galena, Illinois, in the early eighties.

“Mr. Suckow started preaching in 1883 in the German Methodist church. He first acted as an assistant to a minister in Rochester, Minn. Later that year he married Anna Kluckhohn in Garner, Iowa. After the wedding in September, they drove with a horse and buggy to the first real pastorate in Spencer. During this period, he changed to the English Methodist church. His next charge was at Sioux Rapids. From there he moved to Sheldon.

“In 1889 Mr. Suckow changed to the Congregational church. His first church in this denomination was at Hawarden. His daughter Ruth was born here. Followed pastorates in LeMars, Algona, Ft. Dodge and Manchester. He then served for three years as field secretary for Grinnell college.

“He served a church in Davenport for a time but preferred a smaller church and went bak to an old charge, Manchester, and from there to Earlville. His first wife having died some time before, he married Mrs. Opal Swindle of Earlville in 1922. From there they moved to Forest City and in 1928 to Alden, where he finished his ministry.

“Rev. Suckow wanted to continue his work in Alden until June, when he would have completed 50 years of ministry in the Congregational churches in Iowa. At the time of his demise he was the oldest active minister in the Iowa Congregational church.

“He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Opal Suckow, and two step-sons, Earl and Duane Swindle; his daughter (Ruth) Mrs. Ferner Nuhn of Cedar Falls; one granddaughter, Judith Hunting of Denver, Colo.; his sister, Mrs. Ed Shaefer of Klemme, and brothers Ed Suckow of Unionville and Charles Suckow of Clarinda.”

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RESEARCH NOTES

His death certificate adds his parents, John Joseph Suckow and Caroline Leverence, both born in Germany; died at 1 p.m. April 4, 1939; causes, coronary heart disease of several years duration, and coronary thrombosis, onset 4-4-39; contributory cause, thrombosis of right femoral artery, 4-4-39; buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Cedar Falls, Iowa.

His FindaGrave.com page says that his parents were natives of Mecklenberg, Germany, and gives his second wife’s name as Opal L. Van Fleet Swindle.