Ben Forker (1937-2007)
GRUNDY CENTER –- Ben Forker, 70, of Grundy
Center, died Thursday, Oct. 25, at home under the care of Cedar
Valley Hospice.
He was born May 22, 1937, in Waterloo, son of Clarence Benjamin and Marie Pearl Watters Forker. He married Kay Silver in December 1956 in Cedar Falls; she died in October 1990. He married Rita Praska Fisher on Aug. 5, 1995, in Grundy Center.
Mr. Forker graduated from Cedar Falls High School in 1956. He worked for Ozark Airlines and later became manager of Ozark Airlines in Waterloo. He owned furniture stores in Cedar Falls, Waterloo and Oelwein for many years. He also owned L Beauty Shop in Cedar Falls and Hunter Employment Agency in Waterloo. He later was a senior sales consultant for Paul Brooker Sales of Wichita, Kan.
Survivors include: his wife; a daughter, Tracy (Bret) Pettyjohn of Melcher; a son, Dan of Waterloo; four stepchildren, Teresa Fisher of Brooklyn, N.Y., Carol (John) Freeman of Grundy Center, Amy (Robb) Blanchard of Coggon and Mark Fisher of Corning; four grandchildren and six stepgrandchildren; and a brother, Bill (Sydney) Forker of Grove, Okla.
Services: 10 a.m. Monday at Holy Family Parish, Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Grundy Center, with burial in Finchford Cemetery. Public visitation from 4 to 8 p.m. today at Engelkes-Abels Funeral Home, Grundy Center, with a 4 p.m. prayer vigil and a 7;30 p.m. Knights of Columbus rosary.
Memorials: may be directed to Columbus High School in Waterloo, Cedar Valley Hospice or Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Grundy Center.
He was born May 22, 1937, in Waterloo, son of Clarence Benjamin and Marie Pearl Watters Forker. He married Kay Silver in December 1956 in Cedar Falls; she died in October 1990. He married Rita Praska Fisher on Aug. 5, 1995, in Grundy Center.
Mr. Forker graduated from Cedar Falls High School in 1956. He worked for Ozark Airlines and later became manager of Ozark Airlines in Waterloo. He owned furniture stores in Cedar Falls, Waterloo and Oelwein for many years. He also owned L Beauty Shop in Cedar Falls and Hunter Employment Agency in Waterloo. He later was a senior sales consultant for Paul Brooker Sales of Wichita, Kan.
Survivors include: his wife; a daughter, Tracy (Bret) Pettyjohn of Melcher; a son, Dan of Waterloo; four stepchildren, Teresa Fisher of Brooklyn, N.Y., Carol (John) Freeman of Grundy Center, Amy (Robb) Blanchard of Coggon and Mark Fisher of Corning; four grandchildren and six stepgrandchildren; and a brother, Bill (Sydney) Forker of Grove, Okla.
Services: 10 a.m. Monday at Holy Family Parish, Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Grundy Center, with burial in Finchford Cemetery. Public visitation from 4 to 8 p.m. today at Engelkes-Abels Funeral Home, Grundy Center, with a 4 p.m. prayer vigil and a 7;30 p.m. Knights of Columbus rosary.
Memorials: may be directed to Columbus High School in Waterloo, Cedar Valley Hospice or Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Grundy Center.