Bennie Pospisil

BENNIE POSPISIL

Mount Vernon

Bennie Wesley Pospisil, 87, of Mount Vernon, died in the early hours of Sunday, March 30, 2014, at the Dennis and Donna Oldorf Hospice House of Mercy, Hiawatha. His final days and hours were spent in the bosom of his beloved family and in the thoughts and prayers of his many, many friends. Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 2, at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Mount Vernon, by Monsignor Thomas Zinkula. The family will greet friends from 4 until 7 p.m. Tuesday at the church with a vigil service beginning at 7 p.m. Burial will be at St. John's Cemetery in Lisbon, with military honors.

Bennie was born Aug. 15, 1926, in Fairfax, Iowa. He was the firstborn son of Wesley and Ana Lipsonsky Pospisil. Bennie attended country school, and as a young man, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and proudly served his country. Upon his return from service, he laid the foundation for his lifelong work as a diligent caretaker of his land and livestock. In 1947, Bennie met Miss Viola Lorraine Miller at a dance at the C.S.P.S. Hall in Cedar Rapids, and, as they say, "the rest is history." They were married at St. Wenceslaus Church in Cedar Rapids on Feb. 8, 1949.

Bennie took his membership in the American Legion very seriously and volunteered to serve in any way needed. He was a 4-H leader and an active member of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, where he served on several committees. He was an avid bowler and golfer and a devoted Cardinals and Hawkeye fan. He was an award-winning salesman of seed and feed, a high yield farmer, a member of the Linn County Pork Producers, and after retirement, enjoyed woodworking and volunteering at Hallmark Care and Rehabilitation Center.

One of his most appreciated honors was to be included in the 2011 Honor Flight of World War II veterans to Washington, D.C.

Bennie was, above all, an attentive and involved husband and father. He gamely ate his way through his young bride's early attempts to cook, he loved his mother-in-law, he threw endless pitches to his hopeful sons, helped his boys learn to tend and care for hogs, patiently shadowed by his adoring daughter while he did chores and later posing as her Guinea Pig as she learned to cut hair.

Bennie is survived by his best friend and cherished wife of 65 years, Viola; and their children and grandchildren: son, Kenneth (Jane), and their children, Braden (Anton) Rood and Benjamin (Megan) Pospisil; daughter, Linda (Dan) McNeal, and children, Sean McNeal (Gennifer Lashley) and Jennifer (Keith) Woods; and son, Gregory (Robin) Pospisil, and children, Joshua Pospisil (Erin Powell) and Jacob Pospisil (Chelsey Havill). Bennie is also survived by the great-grandchildren he so loved, Jalen, Kia and Brendan McNeal; Jasper, Atticus and Chester Rood; Benjamin and Alaina Pospisil; Lydia, Whitney and Wesley Woods; and Laine and Silas Pospisil.

Bennie was preceded in death by his parents; a brother, Charles; two sisters, Libbie Heslop and Ruth Aucutt; sisters-in-law, Monica (Jerry) Tichy, Marianne Depianti and Blanche and Beatrice Miller; and brothers-in-law, Ernest (Dorothy), Stanley and Benjamin Miller.

Bennie was, and will continue to be, a rare and delightful treasure to his family. He had these great, big hands.....always reaching out to hug and to hold and to comfort, sometimes, though seldom (though deservedly!) to discipline. His dear heart seemed to know no earthly limits; it just expanded to fit us all right inside. Bennie loved each and every member of his family. Beyond that...he simply loved people. He loved to visit, he loved to listen, he loved to teach. He did all of that so easily, so naturally, we never realized the lessons we were learning.

Those of us left behind with his passing have charged ourselves with preserving and promoting Dad's goodness and generosity and faithfulness in our own lives and, with care, onto our children and into the generations to come.

Our sincere Thank You goes out to the people and agencies who have helped and guided us through the last steps of Dad's journey: Mercy Care Mount Vernon, Hallmark Care Center, the Mercy Medical Center ICU unit and the caring, healing staff there, the Dennis and Donna Oldorf Hospice House of Mercy, the staff and congregation of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, and our much loved family and friends who have kept us supported by your prayers and your presence. May you all somehow know how much we appreciate each and every gesture, each and every prayer.

Memorials in Bennie's honor may be sent to: St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, 212 Seventh St. SE, Mount Vernon, IA 52314, and the Dennis and Donna Oldorf Hospice House of Mercy, 315 18th Ave., Hiawatha, IA 52233 or to the charity of donor's choice.