Marian Eloise (Klein) ROCKOW

ROCKOW, RHOER, KLEIN, BEHM, KEATING, HOEGH, WOODALL, JANSEN, SWARTZ

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 2/10/2024 at 13:06:55

June 14, 1925 ---- January 1, 2018

Marian Rockow, 92, of Webster City, died Monday, January 1, 2018, at the University of Iowa Hospitals, Iowa City. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, January 13, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. at Vernon Lutheran Church, south of Dows with Pastor Peter Mueller officiating. Burial at Vernon Township Cemetery will follow the services. Visitation will be held on Friday, January 12, 2018 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Foster Funeral Home.

Marian Eloise Klein was born June 14, 1925 at the Klein Dairy Farm southeast of the Webster City radio station to Earl C. and Flossie Rhoer Klein. Her father delivered milk to many Webster City homes with a horse and buggy. At an early age, Marian moved with her parents, and her extended family, including paternal grandparents, Geo and Elizabeth Klein and paternal great-grandmother, Margaret Behm, to an acreage with a large brick house on West James Street. There, two brothers, Earl, Jr. in 1926 and Richard Luverne in 1932, joined her. Another brother, John Phillip, joined the family in 1940.

Marian’s father and grandfather were employed by Equitable Life Insurance to clean up and repair buildings on foreclosed farms. Marian and her family lived on the farms for about two to five years. She attended many schools including Lawn Hill, Washington Central and St. Paul’s Parochial in Webster City. She also attended rural schools near Blairsburg, Kamrar and Wall Lake Township in Wright County. Marian attended Blairsburg and Dows High Schools.

On February 18, 1944, Marian married Leonard Kenneth Rockow at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church parsonage in Webster City. They made their home in Williams Township. where they farmed. Later the couple moved to Vernon Township in Wright County, where they resided for many years. In the mid eighties, Marian and Leonard purchased a farm in Wall Lake Township, and lived there until Leonard passed away in 1987. Marian moved back to Webster City in 1991.

Marian and Leonard were parents of four children, Marilyn Keating of Belton, MO; Dan (Renee) Rockow of Polk City; Suzanne (Bruce) Hoegh of Exira; and Rebecca (Andy Woodall) Rockow of Webster City. They are survived by eight grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; Marian’s special friend, Arend Jansen, and many extended family.

Marian had a variety of talents and interests. She was a wonderful cook and an excellent seamstress. She loved being outdoors, gardening, bird feeding, and farming too. She spent many hours in the bean field or in the barn. Her favorite activity was raising and showing horses with her daughter, Becky. She enjoyed travel, reading, and woodworking. She dearly loved her grandchildren, her pets, and her Brewers Baseball Team! Marian served in many capacities at Vernon Lutheran Church and was also a past 4-H Leader in Vernon Township.

She was preceded in death by her parents; grandparents; brothers, Earl, Richard and Jack Klein; and sons-in-law, Jerry Keating and Terry Swartz.

Freeman Journal --- Webster City, IA
January 12, 2018