Raymond Norbert Dickes

MASON CITY -Raymond Norbert Dickes, 87, of Mason City died Saturday, Dec. 31, 2011, at his home in Mason City.
A memorial service will take place at 12 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 7, at Hogan-Bremer-Moore Colonial Chapel, 126 Third St. N.E., Mason City, where full military honors will be conducted by the Mason City Veterans Memorial Association.
Visitation will take place two hours prior to the service on Saturday at the funeral home.
Memorial contributions may be made to Catholic Charities in care of St. Joseph's Parish, Mason City.
Raymond N. Dickes was born March 24, 1924, in Osmond, Neb., the son of Frank and Mabel Dickes. Ray came of age on farms in northeastern Nebraska corn country amid a rough and tumble family of Dickes boys. He graduated from high school in Coleridge, Neb., as World War II gathered steam. He headed for Omaha and military service. He married Bonnie Ylene Jordan in September 1942 and they enjoyed 68 years of marriage. He always referred to her as his Bride.
One of the Greatest Generation, Ray served in the United States Marine Corps from 1942 to the end of the war in 1945. He fought his way across the South Pacific from Guadalcanal to Bougainville, Kwajalein, Saipan, Guam and the epic battle of Okinawa.
In fall 1945 Ray returned home to his Bride and young son and the family grew quickly, mirroring the baby boom. Ray and Bonnie welcomed a daughter and four more sons. Family was central to his life. He worked for his wife and children, ensured that they were clean, fed, clothed, disciplined, respectful and educated.
Ray began a career with Armour and Company in 1952, serving as regional sales manager out of the Mason City plant until moving to Davenport and then Chicago. He retired in 1986 and returned to Mason City. Bonnie and Ray were active in Mason City and he served as president of Mason City Country Club.
Ray was preceded in death by his parents and his wife, Bonnie. He was the last of the Dickes boys, having been preceded in death by brothers Ted, Bud, Leo, Gene and Jim. He was also preceded in death by a grandson, William.
Ray is survived by his children, Allen (Colleen), Topeka, Kan.; Barbara Dickes Halgren, Cocoa, Fla.; Lawrence (Janis), Cedar Rapids; Bruce (Cathy), Omaha, Nebraska; Raymond (Sharon), Sugarland, Texas; and Steven (Loretta), Rochester, Minn. He leaves eleven grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren.
Ray was a proud Marine. He was sometimes gruff, always tough, often stoic but yet a loving and caring son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather and friend to many. He will be greatly missed.
Hogan-Bremer-Moore Colonial Chapel, 126 Third St. N.E., Mason City, Iowa; 641-423-2372; www.colonialchapels.com.