Nechville, Stan

Stan Nechville passed away at home on Sunday, Dec. 26, 2010, after a five month courageous fight with a malignant brain tumor.

A celebration of life will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday at McLaren's Chapel, 801 19th St., West Des Moines, IA with a visitation from 1 to 2 p.m. before the service.

He is survived by his wife, Judy; his sister, Gloria Collins, and nephew, Jan Collins, of Cedar Rapids; and niece, Jodi Sullivan of Tampa, Fla.

Stan was born July 17, 1940, to Adolph J. and Edna Lange Nechville in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he grew up. He attended McKinley and was in the first graduating class from newly built Washington High School in 1958, where he played varsity basketball. He attended Coe College in Cedar Rapids and graduated in 1962 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business/Marketing. He was an active member of Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity at Coe and has kept in touch with many of his fraternity brothers over the years.

After college Stan graduated from Naval Officers Candidate Training School in Newport Beach, R.I., and was assigned to the Navy destroyer USS Uhlmann (DD687) as a Communications Officer. He made many lifetime friends aboard the ship and over the years he and his wife have attended their reunions held all over the United States. After his tour on the ship, he was sent to Vietnam and spent a year of duty there. He was discharged from active duty as a lieutenant.

Shortly after coming home in 1966 he married Judy Casey of Cedar Rapids. They have been happily married for 44 years.

After living in several cities in Iowa they made their home in West Des Moines, Iowa, where they have lived for 35 years. Before he retired, Stan had a successful sales career in the automotive industry for over 38 years.

Stan and Judy have always loved the North Woods and early in their marriage bought a log cabin on Lake Kabetogama in the Voyagers National Park in Minnesota. There they spent most all of their summers, relaxing, fishing, boating, hiking, etc. Stan was always remodeling something, too.

Stan loved the outdoors and was an avid hunter and fisherman. He especially enjoyed going out with his three brothers-in-law, Jim, Tim and Mike Casey.

He was very particular about his yard and could be seen out working in it whenever the weather cooperated. He was fond of his roses.

Stan had a thirst for knowledge and thoroughly enjoyed reading, especially non-fiction and took a special interest in the Civil War. He and Judy took many trips around the United States after they retired and tried to incorporate visiting battle sites on their trips as well as presidential museums.

Watching football and basketball were big pastimes for Stan and Judy. They got a kick out of watching both the Hawkeyes and the Cyclones. Also, they enjoyed playing bridge and belonged to several bridge groups. Pepper was another card game that was big with their family and friends.

Stan was a good friend to all who knew him and he was friends with Bill W. and Dr. Bob.

Online condolences may be made to McLaren's Chapel at .

Memorial contributions may be made to Taylor House Hospice of Iowa.

He will be greatly missed and forever in our hearts.