Obituary of Theodore Bakula

He is survived by his son, Dan (Martha) Bakula, of Taft, TN; 5 grandchildren: Matt, Casey, Patrick, David and Keri Bakula; 2 step-grandchildren: Kelly O?Steen and Kim Caudle; a son-in-law, Jack (Liz) Brimeyer; 3 sisters: Mona (Daniel) Westhoff of New Vienna, IA, Ethel (Donald) Omhert of Dubuque, IA, Delores (Charles) Schneider of Tigard, OR; 2 brothers: Ed (Alvina) Bakula of North Hills, CA and Keith Bakula of Golden, CO; 2 brothers-in-law, Henry ?Bud? Wenzel of Warsaw, IL and Jerry ?Tink? (Betty) Heiring of Mansfield, WI; 9 sisters-in-law: Theresa Bakula of Fresno, CA, Lue Heying of Dubuque, IA, Darlene Rusch and Lois Ross, both of Holy Cross, IA, Mae McGuire of Cedar Rapids, IA, Elaine Williams of Tacoma, WA, Joyce (Mike) Salatino of Wauna, WA, Shirley (Gene) Klein of Rickardsville, IA and Jean Heiring of Prairie duChien, WI. Ted was preceded in death by his parents and his wife; a daughter, Lin Brimeyer, and a son, David Bakula; 5 brothers: Francis, Walter, Emmett, Gerald and Stanley Bakula, and 3 sisters: Marie Knebel, Irene Knebel and Ruth Wenzel. He served his country in the Merchant Marines during WWII and was an instructor at Redstone Arsenal, Department of the Army Missile Defense Command in Huntsville, Alabama. Ted was born on October 18, 1920, at North Buena Vista, Iowa, the son of Frank and Mary (McCaffery) Bakula. He married Helen J. Heiring in Holy Cross on October 18, 1947. She preceded him in death on December 24, 1992. Ted was a poet, an entrepreneur, a singer/songwriter, a policeman, a farmer and a road builder. He was a prolific artist, painting over 50 oils after the age of 70 years.