Zobac, Aldrich 'Ott'

Aldrich “Ott” Zobac, 88, passed away July 2, 2010, at home. Despite our sorrow, we know he is together again with his beloved wife, Gladys, who he has missed so much since her death in December. He leaves behind sons Marvin and Wayne and daughter Cindy.

Dad was born May 22, 1922, to Frank and Mary (Vacek) Zobac, in Cedar Rapids. He grew up in Czech Village and loved to tell stories about living on 22nd Avenue, the people he knew, the cars he drove, and the crazy things he and his brothers and friends did, like trying to kill chickens in the basement with a shotgun, and walking to Ely.

Dad met his one and only girl, Gladys, at Keeney's Guitar Studio in Cedar Rapids, when he started taking lessons at the studio. At that time, Dad, his brothers and their buddies rode in a motorcycle group, and they would spend weekends riding with their girlfriends. Dad rode a Harley, which Mom never forgave him for selling once they quit riding, and Dad never quit loving the sound of. It was while they were going together that Mom gave him the nickname “Ott,” because he looked like New York Giants baseball player Mel Ott.

Dad served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1942 to 1945 and was stationed in Panama, Hawaii and Florida during the war. He married Gladys Favre on July 19, 1942. Mom and Marv joined him in Florida for a while, then the three of them lived with his parents on 22nd Avenue after Dad came home. In 1947, they moved into a little veterans house in Time Check that his father built.

Dad was always on the go and he and Mom lived life to the fullest, spending countless weekends over 60 years pursuing the many interests she inspired. When they weren't mushroom hunting, trout fishing, rock hunting, camping or just exploring, they were going to antique auctions, antique shows and flea markets. If they ever passed by an antiques shop without stopping, it was because it wasn't open.

Dad loved to travel and did it with gusto. When the boys were young, the family would take off for Wyoming or Montana on Friday after Dad got home from work, drive all night, see what they could see, then “drive like hell” to be back for work Monday morning. Dad also loved fireworks and Marv remembers going to Ohio on special fireworks acquisition trips. When Marvin was discharged from the Marine Corps in 1963, Dad bought a Chevy truck, put a camper on it, and drove to California to get him. After his retirement, Dad had a hankering to see Alaska because his brother helped build the Alcan Highway, and ended up taking Mom and Cindy there five times between 1991 and 2002. He and Mom would be gone all summer, exploring Alaska, Canada and the western U.S. They also took several trips to Arizona, California and Nevada to visit Mom's sisters. No matter where they went, they camped, at first sleeping in whatever car they were driving at the time, then in the camper on the old ‘63. They enjoyed the outdoors too much and wouldn't dream of being in the confines of a motel room.

Dad was a carpenter all his life, first working with his father and brothers in the family carpentry business, then later working for other construction companies. Dad had a strong work ethic and believed that if you were going to do something, you should do it right. That quality is evident in everything he did, especially the house on O Avenue that he and Mom built. He liked to point out the houses and buildings around Cedar Rapids that he and his family worked on, and he and Mom photographed as many of them as possible to record to Zobac construction history. He retired from Loomis Brothers Construction in 1985, but didn't sit still, what with the list of never-ending projects that kept him busy.

Dad was proud of his Czech heritage and worked hard to establish and maintain contact with relatives in his parents' homeland. Eventually he and daughter Cindy made three wonderful trips to the Czech Republic to visit relatives who still live in the village his parents came from. Being Czech also meant he enjoyed polka music and would listen to the Sunday Morning Czech Party on WMT radio, play polka records on his stereo and attend area polka festivals to watch the dancing.

Dad was a good man who would help anyone who needed it. He was a member of the Cedar Valley Rocks and Minerals Society, participated for many years in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count, and belonged to Carpenters Local Union 308. But mostly, he was Dad, who we love so much and will miss dearly.

Aldrich is survived by sons, Marvin (Cathy) of Mount Vernon and Wayne Daniel of Marion; daughter, Cindy Renee (Darren) Bogner of Palo; grandsons, Mike Zobac and Chris (Joann) Zobac of Mount Vernon; and great-grandchildren, Mat, Megan, Emma and Abby. He is also survived by his brother, Frank (Betty) of Cedar Rapids; sisters-in-law, Hazel Westermeyer, Carmen (Allen) Livingston and Lorraine (Kaare) Lode; and many nieces and nephews.

His wife, Gladys; parents; brothers, Lester, Lumir and Marvin; and sister, Mary, preceded him in death, as did sisters-in-law, Agnes and Ethel Zobac; and brothers-in-law, Bill Westermeyer and Casey Kazebier.

Dad and Mom were both cremated, and asked that their ashes be scattered on their favorite hillside, along Elk Creek in Clayton County.

There were no funeral services. Family and friends may visit at the house - 2101 O Ave. NW - on July 25 from 1 to 5 p.m.