Harvey "Gene" Winkempleck

Harvey "Gene" Winkempleck, 75, of Burlington, IA, died Friday, November 14, 2008, at Great River Medical Center Klein Unit. Funeral service will be held Wednesday, November 26, 2008, at 10:00 a.m. at the Olson - Powell Memorial Chapel, with Pastor Gary Van Nyhuis officiating. Burial with military rites will be in the Keokuk National Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 25, 2008, at the Olson - Powell Memorial Chapel. A memorial has been established. Born June 30, 1933, in Booneville, AR, Harvey Eugene was the son of Harvey and Kathryn Huffstetler Winkempleck. He attended school in Pierce, OK, and then moved to Porterville, CA, with his family. Gene was a 1954 graduate of Porterville High School. In 1955, he joined the United States Navy where he served for two years in San Diego and Guam. Following his discharge, Seaman Winkempleck returned to the Omaha, NE area. On June 10, 1958, he married Barbara Kant in Omaha, NE. She survives. After returning from the service, Gene was employed by Armour Co. in Omaha. He transferred to the Dial Company in Fort Madison, IA in 1978. At that time, Gene moved his family to Argyle, IA, where they lived for ten years before moving to Keokuk, IA. Gene worked for the Armour-Dial Company for 40 years, retiring in 1995. For the past eight years, he has resided at the Montrose Health Care Center and then the Great River Medical Center Klein Unit. Gene was of the Christian faith. He was a leatherworker and enjoyed making purses and billfolds. Gene liked waterskiing, ice skating, camping, and fishing with his family. He also enjoyed any type of hunting. As a young man, he was a pitcher for a men's fast-pitch church softball team. Along with his wife, Gene is survived by two daughters, Gale Slemmer of West Burlington, IA and Janet Winkempleck of Burlington, IA; one son, Ken Winkempleck of Afghanistan; one daughter-in-law, Mimi Winkempleck of Carthage, New York; two brothers, Hershel (Carol) Winkempleck of West Valley, UT and Hubert "Bud" (Janet) Winkempleck of Porterville, CA; and two sisters, Leota (W.C.) Young of Checotah, OK and Ruth Wilson of Porterville, CA. He is also survived by seven grandchildren, Ryan, Jeremy, Erica, Alicia, Joshua, Philip, and Minhi and one great-grandson, James. Along with his parents, Gene was preceded in death by a sister, Loretta, in 2003.