Arthur John Drtina Sr.

1929 - 2022

Arthur John Drtina Sr., 93, of Marion, Iowa, passed away on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022, at Dennis & Donna Oldorf Hospice House of Mercy in Hiawatha, Iowa. Scripture service will be held at 3:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 12, at Murdoch Funeral Home & Cremation Service of Marion, Iowa, with visitation to follow from 4 to 7 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial will begin at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 13, at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Marion, with an additional visitation starting at 9:30 a.m. a livestream of the service can be viewed at youtu.be/lZxdrfpl33U. Burial will be at 3:30 p.m. at Our Lady of Lourdes Cemetery in Elma, Iowa. Arthur was born on a farm near Cresco, Iowa, on Aug. 19, 1929, son of John and Anna (Kubicek) Drtina. He attended a one-room country school until 8th grade, where he rode a Shetland pony a mile and a half to school. Arthur graduated 12th grade at Assumption High School in Cresco, Iowa. He served his country in the U.S. Coast Guard for four years. After boot camp, he spent 13 months at Okinawa, Japan, on a U.S. Coast Guard Loran Navigation Station during the Korean War. The rest of his service was spent on a U.S. Coast Guard Loran Station at Charleston, S.C. On May 7, 1952, he was united to Theola Drake. He worked at Collins Radio in Cedar Rapids for 34 years, retiring in 1989. Arthur’s hobbies were playing guitar, harmonica, singing and going fishing. He will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him. Arthur is survived and lovingly remembered by his two daughters, Janel Johnson and Linda (Paul) Carpenter; two daughters-in-law, Gladys Drtina and Teresa Drtina; son-in-law, Pat Hills; many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews; and his best friend, Ruby Stephens. He was preceded in death by his wife of 44 years, Theola (Drake) Drtina; daughter, Debra Hills; sons, Arthur Jr. Drtina and Donald Drtina; parents, John and Anna Drtina; two brothers, Frank Drtina and George (Katherine) Drtina; and five sisters, Helen (Ed) Shimek, Lillian (Adolph) Shimek, Irene (Leo) Hyberger, Grace (Ray) Bagan and Marie (Floyd) Copeman. Please share a memory of Arthur at www.murdochfuneralhome.com under obituaries.