John Pelzel

Memorial services and Mass of Christian Burial for John J. Pelzel, 69, a resident of Davenport, will be 11 a.m. Thursday at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. Burial will be in Holy Family Cemetery, Davenport. Visitation will be 10 a.m. Thursday at the church until the time of service. Cremation rites will be accorded prior to services. Halligan-McCabe-DeVries Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Mr. Pelzel died Sunday, Oct. 13, 2002, at Trinity Medical Center-North Campus, Davenport. John Jerome Pelzel was born June 21, 1933, in Davenport, the son of Clarence Charles and Lenora (VonEdzards) Pelzel. He married Carol J. Springer on June 23, 1956, in El Paso, Texas. He graduated from the former Davenport High School, Class of 1949. John enlisted in the USAF in April 1951 and retired in July 1972 after 20 years of active duty. He was a tail gunner in B-36s and B-52s. He honorably served in the Korea, Indo-China and Vietnam conflicts. He was stationed at Air Force bases throughout the United States, and was decorated for his exemplary contributions to the U.S. Air Force. He had worked at Grants and Montgomery Wards as an auto mechanic until he retired in 1995. John loved fishing, camping and being outdoors, but most of all he loved his family and helping people that he cared about. Memorial contributions should be given to St. Mary’s Church Memorial Fund. Survivors include his wife, Carol; two sons and a daughter-in-law, John and Jolene Pelzel, McAlester, Okla., and Michael Pelzel, Glendale, Colo.; two daughters and sons-in-law, Connie and John Westerhof, Merrimack, N.H., and Nancy and Bill Baker, Davenport; a sister, Neda Pelzel, Lakewood, Colo.; and seven grandchildren. His parents, Lenora and Clarence Pelzel; a brother, Clarence "Klink" Pelzel; a sister, Delores Watkins; and a daughter, Elizabeth Pelzel, preceded John in death.