Marshall Pitcher

MARSHALL "DOC" PITCHER Maquoketa Marshall O. "Doc" Pitcher, 89, of Maquoketa, died suddenly Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015, at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City. A celebration of Marshall's life will be 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 7, at First United Methodist Church in Maquoketa. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 6, at Carson Celebration of Life Center in Maquoketa. Burial will be in Mount Hope Cemetery, Maquoketa. Marshall was born on Christmas Day 1925, the youngest child of Austin and Lucille Pitcher of Collins, Iowa. He grew up on the family farm and graduated from Collins High School in 1943. Marshall enlisted in the U.S. Army and served in the Philippines at the close of World War II for two years (1944-1946). Upon his return home, he attended Iowa State University and graduated in 1954, receiving his DVM ? Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. While at ISU, he was a member of Adelante Fraternity. He married Else Nielsen on July 23, 1955, and after practicing in Freeport, Ill., moved to Maquoketa, Iowa, in 1956 and established his veterinary practice. He worked as a large and small animal vet for 30 years and then in 1987, began work as a veterinary inspector for the USDA, retiring in 2000. During his 59 years in the community, he served on several boards, including the Maquoketa school board, Jackson County board of health and Jackson County Demonstration Farm. He was an active member of First United Methodist Church and loved music and singing. He was preceded in death by his parents; brothers, Milo, Bobby and Howard (Bun); a sister, Velma; and a niece, MaryAnn. He is survived by his wife, Else; four children, Paul of Reading, Pa., Anne (Michael) Hawks of Maquoketa, Alan (Alicia) of Wichita, Kan., and Miriam (Tom) Mackey of Cedar Rapids; and eight grandchildren, Marshall and Perry Hawks, Charlie Pitcher, Austin, Amelia and Arin Pitcher and Lydia and Helen Mackey. He loved his coffee buddies, traveling, whether to faraway places or the familiar gravel roads of Jackson County, the farmers and their stories, and anything for a laugh. In lieu of other expressions of sympathy, memorials may be made to the Iowa State University School of Veterinary Medicine or First United Methodist Church in Maquoketa. Online condolences may be left at www.CarsonAnd Son.com.