Robert J. Stock

Robert J. Stock, 90, died peacefully Tuesday, April 24, 2018, at Veterans Memorial Hospital, Waukon, Iowa. Christian burial service will be held at 11:00 am Friday, April 27th at Zion United Church of Christ in Waukon with Pastor Bill Odermann officiating. Inurnment with military honors will be in Oakland Cemetery, Waukon. Visitation will be held from 4:00 to 7:00 pm Thursday at Martin Funeral Home in Waukon and for 1 hour before the service at the church on Friday. In lieu of flowers or gifts, memorials may be given to Thornton Manor, Veterans Memorial Hospital or the charity of your choice.

Robert James Stock was born on April 12, 1928, in Waukon, IA, to Harvey Lewellyn and Mabel Geneva (Larson) Stock. He was baptized and confirmed at Zion United Church of Christ and attended grade school at Elk Country School before graduating from Waukon High School in 1945. Bob enlisted in the U.S. Army and served on active duty from 1953 to 1955. He remained in reserve status until he was honorably discharged as a private first class in September 1961. He was stationed at Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, and maintained target drone aircraft used for testing guided missiles at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.

After serving his country, Bob returned home to the family farm east of Waukon. He married Irene Dorothea (Meyer) Stock on April 27, 1958, at St. John's Lutheran Church in Caledonia, Minn. Bob and Irene farmed together for more than 40 years milking cows and raising registered Chester White hogs and grain. Upon retirement from farming, Bob and Irene moved into Waukon in November 1994 but he maintained his interest in the farm and regularly went there to help with whatever he could.

Bob served on the Allamakee County Fair Board for more than 50 years and was president for a majority of that time. He was a life-long member of Zion UCC as well as a member of Allamakee County Farm Bureau, Pork Producer associations, and the Chester White Swine Records Association. He also served on the local Sesquicentennial committee, helped for many years at the annual Threshing Days events, oversaw the records and care of the rural Ebenezer Cemetery, and spent a lot of time helping with the upkeep and day to day operations of the buildings at the fairgrounds.

Surviving Bob are his wife of 60 years, Irene; 3 daughters: Joan (Dennis) Behr, Madison, Wis., Jane Regan, Harpers Ferry, and Kaye Anderson, Rochester, Minn.; 4 sons: Lyle (Annette), Lynn (Melanie), Kent (Rhonda) and Mark (Stacy), all of Waukon; 11 grandchildren; 7 step-grandchildren, one great-grandchild; 2 sisters: Ella Mae Dvorak, Waukon and Shirley Colson, Rochester, Minn; and many nieces and nephews. Bob was preceded in death by his parents; his sisters Eleanor Nolting and Marjorie Meyer; and a grandson, Chase Regan.

The family wishes to thank the staff at Thornton Manor, Lansing, Iowa, who have provided care and support for Bob since March 2017 and the staffs at Veterans Memorial Hospital and Crossing Rivers Health Hospice during his final days.