Charles Kopp

Hawarden, Iowa: Charles Edward Kopp, 89, died Thursday May 9, 2013, at the Hillcrest Health Care Center in Hawarden, Iowa. His funeral will be held on Saturday, May 11, 10:30 a.m., at the United Methodist Church with Rev. Barb Joy officiating. Burial will be at Grace Hill Cemetery. Visitation will begin at two on Friday with a prayer service at 7 p.m. at the United Methodist Church. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be directed to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Condolences may be left for the family at www.porterfuneralhomes.com.

Charles was born December 7, 1923 in Sioux City, Iowa. He attended school in Sioux City, graduating from East High School in December of 1941. Pearl Harbor Day was his 18th birthday. He worked for the war effort as a welder, then joined the Army in 1943. He served as a mechanic with the Office of Strategic Services in the China-Burma-India Division. He earned the Good Conduct Medal and the Asiatic Pacific Theater service ribbon. After the war he worked in Sioux City and Onawa, Iowa as a mechanic. He married Alice Marie Miller on October 24, 1948. They had three children, Chuck, Jane, and Bob. The family moved to Hawarden in 1963, and Chuck worked at Coilcraft in Hawarden, first as machinist, then as plant manager. He retired in 1988, but continued to work in the machine shop until he was 77 years old. He had a very sharp mind, and a meticulous attention to detail, so he was able to design and build the machines that could wind the tiny coils required by the industry.

Chuck always had a love of motorcycles, so in their retirement years he and Alice enjoyed riding their motorcycle all over the country. He was a member of the United Methodist Church, serving on the church council and as church president. He was a member of the America Legion.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Ivy and Edward Kopp; sisters Ruth, Esther, and Vivian; brothers Eugene and Donald.

He is survived by his wife, Alice Marie, of Hawarden; two sons, Chuck (Patty) of Kennewick, Washington, and Bob (Sarah) of Custer, South Dakota; one daughter, Jane (Ron) Utecht, of Volga, South Dakota; eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren; one sister, Evelyn (George) Klammer of Green Valley, Arizona, three sisters-in-law, Dorothy Berry of Hawarden, Wanda Miller of Beresford, and Faye Kopp of Mora, Minnesota.