He was born on March 2, 1926 in Minneapolis, MN to Theodore T. & Mary Helen Fussy Chock. He married Elizabeth “Betty” Buecker on October 14, 1950 at St. Mary’s Church in Fort Madison, IA. He worked for the Santa Fe Railroad as a telegrapher and bridge engineer with 42 years of service. He was a member of Ss. Mary & Joseph Church, 4th Degree Knights of Columbus, American Legion and the NewberryCenter. He served 6 terms as the Grand Knight of the Knights of Columbus, 7 years as Financial Secretary, Trustee for 2 years and was awarded Iowa Grand Knight of the year in 1996-97. He held nearly every office in the Knights of Columbus and has been very active at Ss. Mary & Joseph Church, VFW and was credited with giving approximately 500 hours of volunteer work annually to the RSVP program in FortMadison. He was ordered to walk four hours a day by his doctor, which led to him picking up litter and recycling cans and bottles. The money he earned was donated to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.
Dick is survived by: his wife: Elizabeth “Betty” Chock of Fort Madison, IA; 2-brothers: Louis (Laverne) Chock of Little Falls, MN & Eugene (Connie) Chock of St. Joseph, MN; 2-sisters: Mary Panek of St. Anna, MN & Mary Ann Pogatschnik of Avon, MN and a number of nieces & nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents & 2-brother in laws.
Friends may call after 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 1, 2012 with the family to receive friends from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. with a Knights of Columbus Rosary to be recited at 6:30 immediately followed by the Christian Wake Service all at King-Lynk Funeral Home & Crematory. The funeral mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, November 2, 2012 at Ss. Mary & Joseph Church with Rev. David Wilkening officiating. Burial will be held at GethsemaneCemetery with military rites performed by the Fort Madison Veterans Honor Guard. A memorial has been established for Holy Trinity Catholic Schools or the family has asked for masses to be given in Dick’s memory also. Online condolences may be left at the King-Lynk Funeral Home & Crematory website: http://www.kinglynk.com/.
