Obituary of Lawrence Joseph Kopecky

MONTICELLO, IOWA Lawrence J. Kopecky, 79, of Greeley, CO and formerly of Monticello, died Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2014 at North Colorado Medical Center in Greeley, CO. Friends may call from 3:00 - 7:00 p.m. Friday, January 2, 2015, at Kramer Funeral Home in Monticello, Iowa where a parish rosary will be recited at 3:00 p.m. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, January 3, 2015, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Monticello with inurnment in the church cemetery. Military honors will be accorded by the Monticello Drill Team and the US Navy Honors Detail. Officiating will be Rev. Paul Baldwin. Lawrence was born on September 6, 1935, in Elberon, Iowa, the son of Joseph and Ruth (Kesl) Kopecky. He graduated from Elberon High School in 1953. He served in the Navy as a Radio Operator on the USS Mauna Loa from Aug 1953 - Aug 1956. He married Ruth Odell on April 9, 1958, in Belle Plaine, Iowa. Together they moved to Monticello where he worked for and eventually became the sales manager for Linn-Jones Farm Service until retiring around 1990. He was a member of the Monticello Lions Club and the American Legion. Survivors include his children: Candy Eilers of Overland Park, KS, Randy (Joyce) Kopecky of Omaha, NE and Sandy (Penny) Duncan of Cedar Rapids, IA; 4 grandchildren: Eric Eilers of Overland Park, KS, Kristin (Andrew) Vaughn of Ely, IA and Jack and Robert Kopecky of Omaha, NE. 2 great granddaughters, Layla and Parker Rouse and 1 step great grandson, Will Vaughn, all of Ely; 1 brother Leander (Florene) Kopecky of Cedar Rapids and 1 sister Rosemary Roberts of Forestdale, MA. Lawrence was preceded in death by his wife, Ruth, in 2000, a daughter, Mandy, and a son, Andy, both in infancy, and 1 sister, Annette Henry. Memorials may be given to the Honor Flight of Northern Colorado in lieu of flowers. (http://www.honorflightnortherncolorado.org)