Obituaries

Roger W. Stock, 85, of Waukon died Tuesday, October 15, 2024, at Good Samaritan Center in Waukon. Funeral services were held Saturday, October 19 at Zalmona Presbyterian Church in rural Waukon with Pastor Karla Johnson officiating. Burial with military honors was at the church cemetery.

Roger Wayne Stock was born May 9, 1939, in Waukon, the son of Reuben Simon and Luella Caroline (Nagel) Stock. He was baptized and confirmed at Zalmona Presbyterian Church, where he was a lifetime member. Country school started as a challenge for him, as his family only spoke German at home and Roger did not know English; his teacher made him stand in the corner until he learned.

Michael “Mike” Edward Quillin, 74, of Waterville died Monday, September 9, 2024, at his home after a long battle with cancer. Funeral services will be held Friday, October 18 at 10 a.m. at St. Ann’s/St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Harpers Ferry. A Celebration of Life will follow at 12 p.m. at Village Creek Bible Camp in rural Lansing with time for visitation and an open house luncheon starting at 12:45 p.m.
 

David LeRoy Bangs, 83, passed away Monday, October 14, 2024 at the Israel Family Hospice House in Ames. “Bangs” was born August 15, 1941 on a dairy farm in Allamakee County to parents Irvin Cavers and Arkley Karina (Blilie) Bangs.

Funeral Services will be held Saturday, October 19 at 11 a.m. at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 610 15th Street, Ames. Visitation will be held Saturday from 9 a.m. until the time of services at the church. There will be a luncheon immediately following the service at the church.  Burial of ashes will be held at a later date in Gilbert Cemetery in Gilbert.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the family and will be given to the Gilbert Athletic Department in loving memory of “Bangs”.

Fr. John A. Moser, 65, of Waukon passed away Friday, October 11, 2024, at UW Health University Hospital in Madison, WI. The Mass of Resurrection will be held Thursday, October 17 at 11 a.m. at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Waukon with Archbishop Thomas Zinkula officiating. Burial will be at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Elkader.

Friends may greet the family from 4-7 p.m. Wednesday, October 16 at the church in Waukon, where there will be a 3:30 p.m. scripture service and 7 p.m. vigil service. Visitation will also continue from 9:30 a.m. until the time of services at the church Thursday. Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon is handling arrangements.

There are very few humans on the planet that embodied love and joy like Rosie Caldwell. She saw people for who they are and loved them. She didn’t see their wrongdoings first, she saw them as humans first. True to her faith, she loved fiercely, just as she felt God intended us to do.

Rocella Pladsen arrived here November 2, 1949 into a large family. Rosie was born into a family with six brothers (Arlyn, Roger, Cletus, David, Ken, and Gary) and life on the farm with all these ornery personalities left Rosie always up for a time of laughs. The stories of growing up always entertained any audience member. Rosie left the farm life, but the farm never really left her. She was never scared to get her hands dirty, and her work ethic left a lasting impression on her children.

Marlin “Little Coop” Cooper, 71, of Waukon passed away October 9, 2024 at the Northgate Care Center in Waukon. A Celebration of Life will be held at the Allamakee County Fairgrounds Pavilion in Waukon Sunday, October 20 from 1 to 5 p.m.

Marlin Lee Cooper was born June 7, 1953 to Harmon and Marion (Henderson) Cooper in Postville. He graduated from Waukon High School in 1972. After high school, he worked a short time for Gary Lonning Construction.  “Little Coop” was a very talented carpenter. He was self-employed for many years. Later in life, he worked at Iowa Rotocast Plastic in Decorah.

He loved hunting and fishing. He looked forward to his fishing trips to Canada with family and friends. He enjoyed being on the go, visiting with friends or playing cards. He was always willing to lend a helping hand, whether it was making the morning coffee for the residents at South Ridge or being the lead on any construction project.

Leona E. Gesing, 90, of Waukon passed away peacefully Sunday, October 6, 2024, at Northgate Care Center in Waukon. Funeral services will be held Friday, October 18 at 1 p.m. at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Waukon with Fr. Daniel Knipper officiating. Burial will be at Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Waukon. Friends may greet the family from 12 p.m. until the time of services at the church.

Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon is handling arrangements. Memorials can be made to St. Patrick Catholic School, 200 2nd Street SW, Waukon, IA, 52172.

Leona Elizabeth Komarek was born December 20, 1933, to William and Agnes (Pecinovsky) Komarek near Protivin. She attended Catholic school in Protivin. April 30, 1951, she married Joseph Gesing at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Protivin.

Melvin W. Haskovec, 82, of Waukon passed away Monday, October 7, 2024, at home surrounded by family and friends after a three-year journey with pancreatic cancer. Memorial services were held Friday, October 11 at Martin - Grau Funeral Home in Waukon with Karla Johnson officiating.

Memorials may be directed to Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon, Crossing Rivers Hospice in Prairie du Chien, WI or to the Allamakee Scholarship Fund.

Melvin William Haskovec was born October 12, 1941, in Howard County, the son of William and Alice (Roman) Haskovec. He attended country school through eighth grade and graduated from Elma Public High School in 1960. He then earned his B.A. and teaching certificate in biology, chemistry, and history from Upper Iowa University in Fayette.

Donald Jay Weymiller passed away Tuesday, August 6, 2024 in La Crosse, WI with his sister Dietsy by his side. Earlier in the ER while surrounded by family, a nurse asked him who he had with him and Don replied, “Everyone.” Services were held August 9 and a celebration of life August 13.

Relating what a special person Don was is difficult. His brother Tim said it best: My brother loved to ride good stock in rough country, the wilder and less populated the better. He called it the high lonesomes and we rode a lot of lonesome country together. Leaving nothing but hoofprints and taking nothing but memories, we rode as far south as the Big Bend Country of Texas and as far north as the Colorado Trail in the Rockies, with the Dragoons, the Galiuros, Santa Rita’s, Superstitions and San Franciscan mountains of Arizona in between. Don was a whiz at reading topo maps, and while he might run out of food, coffee or tobacco, he could always find water and we never were lost.

John Davis, 70, affectionately known as Johnny, passed away in his home Wednesday, September 25, 2024. A celebration of life will be held in Spring 2025 at Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Waukon.

Known for living life on his own terms, Johnny embraced every chance for fun and adventure. Growing up in Waukon, he spent his childhood playing basketball and softball, and trout fishing with his father on Patterson Creek. He graduated from Waukon High School in 1972 and later joined the United States Marine Corps, of which he was eternally proud.