Obituary of Erwin Koehnecke

Erwin Paul Koehnecke, the son of William and Martha (Roeber) Koehnecke, was born at Evansville, IN on May 12, 1916. As a youth, E.P. lived in the Whittemore, IA area and attended school there until he graduated from high school. E.P. was united in marriage to Nelly Elgersma on September 21, 1941 at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Sheldon, IA. This union was blessed with two children; a son, Roger and a daughter, Rita. Following their marriage the couple resided in Sanborn where E.P. worked for the Milwaukee Railroad doing various jobs. Then they moved to Spencer and later to Hartley where he continued to work for the railroad until retiring in 1976. Following his retirement the couple continued to live in Hartley. September 21, 2006 would have been E.P. and Nelly’s 65th Wedding Anniversary. E.P. passed away on Monday, May 29, 2006 at the Community Memorial Health Center in Hartley, IA. He is survived by his wife: Nelly; son: Roger and his wife, Dianne, of Wildwood, MO; a daughter: Rita Wohlert and her husband Robert, of Iowa Falls, IA; grandchildren: Angela Koehnecke Groth of Sioux Falls, SD, and her children Emily, Abby and Adam; John Koehnecke and his wife, Kate, of Kansas City, MO, and their daughter Quinn; Chris Koehnecke of St. Louis, MO and Shane Wohlert of Omaha, NE; other relatives and many friends. E.P. was preceded in death by his parents and a sister-in-law Henrietta Benz. He was a member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Hartley and was a 50 year member of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees. He will always be remembered for his generosity in giving candy to everyone he knew. He enjoyed eating out, taking long naps and talking on the phone to family and friends. His greatest love was spending time with his wife Nelly, family and friends.