BOONE CONNECTED DEATH

     Michael Stokka, 78, BHS-62. A Celebration of Life planned later. 

     Robin Brown, 55, Boone. Born in Boone. Battled cancer. Spent time with her pets and loved decorating for holidays. A long-time member of the Salvation Army, she donated her time to that church in many ways. A son, Nathanial Brown, survives. Services in Boone.

BOONE AREA DEATH

     Donald Eldon Reese, 91, Madrid/Boone Eastern Star. Married Velma Buche in 1954. The couple lived on a farmstead east of Madrid starting in 1996. Survivors include a daughter, two sons and two brothers. Graveside services in Polk City.

BOONE CONNECTED DEATH

     Marvin Gengler, 89, Boone. Born in Remsen. Remsen St. Mary's HS. Air Force vet. After overseas duty, he was assigned to a Dallas Center IA radar station. Married Anna Marie Giese in 1962 in South Dakota. Member of Lion's Club, Elks Lodge, American Legion and loved time at Okoboji.  He had a quick sense of humor and was quite a conversationalist. Survivors include his wife, Ann, of Boone, three sons, a daughter and a son-in-law, Roger Davidson, of Boone. Marv learned recently he had a daughter, Cindy McMillen, prior to his marriage and she was universally welcomed by the entire family. Services in Boone.

Y BASKETBALL......it was golden

     Perfect memories of the older than old Boone R.R. YMCA thanks to Jerry Bravard.

     Jerry wrote, "While attending Boone Junior College in the early 60's, I rented a room (I think there were seven) on the top floor of that building for $1 a day. Each room was approximately 8 x 10 and furnished with a bed, dresser and desk. The noise and commotion of the Y either honed your ability to concentrate on your studies or you moved out. We shared a common kitchen, however, our culinary skills were limited to heating TV dinners, which were new to the market at that time. A real treat was to get a bag of Slim's hamburgers and a Boyds malt to take back to our room."

     He went on, "the most enduring memory was the basketball that took place in that old gym. After the Y activities ended (9 p.m. I think), the younger kids would vacate and the place was ours. The old jocks...Jerry Cooper, Larry McAnally, Tim Croxen, Steve Shaler, Dick Musser, Steve Vinson, Mike Newbold (Silk), Larry Meyers and myself, to mention a few, would show up."

     Jerry gave a great description of the gym. "It was quite a gem. It was so small, the free throw circles overlapped the center circle. The side and end lines were only a few inches from the concrete wall. A padded mat was hung on the wall behind the baskets in an attempt to soften any blows when you drove in for a layup. The court was so small that five man teams were a dangerous exercise. Three on three was much better. When a player tired, a sub would step in without any disruption of play. Play was self regulated. We developed an honor system whereby either the offensive player or defensive player could call for a foul. The "no blood, no foul" rule was the standard. Games, oftentimes, continued until 12 or 1 a.m. or until no one could walk. A lot of good times were had at the old Y."

     Ron Hopkins, BSH-59, wrote, "I probably spent almost as much of the late 50's at that old Y as I did at the Bide-A-Wee, though the nuns didn't really approve of either entertainment venue. I mostly played basketball and can almost, literally, hear that access buzzer you mentioned. I also enjoyed Grid, Lindy's Root Beer and Bubble Up from the five-cent pop machine, and a ping pong game that involved two tables placed end-to-end and required players to run from one end to the other between shots. Interestingly, my graduate school mentor in Iowa City was from Chicago, worked for the Chicago Northwestern as a young man and had spent many layover nights in the luxury accomodations at that old Boone Y."

     I, the Kornerman, recall the time guys of my era gathered in that old gym for some pretty intense basketball games. Some real rivalries were developed. The team I was a part of was named the Kell Stars and I guess I can say that some of my earliest sports writing efforts were due to this experience. I remember writing pre-game stories with starting lineups and so forth and, of course, a post game summary of each game with highlights and scoring details. The proof of the importance of this competition can be explained by one particular thing I recall. We sent to some Des Moines outfit a pattern for the making of a special Kell Star patch, which was proudly worn by our players. It has long disappeared but I remember that I had one in my possession for a long time. All of the team members had nick names......Jim Brunner was "Slim Jim," of course, and Lloyd Courter was "the Rotund Rocket." Yes, Lloyd was short and pretty chunky (I'm being kind) when he was in his teens. I've forgotten what we called Charlie Hancock, Gary Grosnickle and others. At this time, I don't even remember if I was "Big Mo" or something else. By the way, I did still have some of the writeups I did for these games but I couldn't put a finger on any right now. I do recall sending some of them to Grosnickle a couple years ago to, hopefully, spur some happy memories.

K-----K

     Worldwide Korner headquarters are located at 928 South Jackson, Boone, Iowa 50036-4932. Phone number is 515-432-1530. Leave a message. To email your stories/memories/comments/death notices.....

kelleyskorner1@gmail.com.

BOONE CONNECTED DEATH

     Mary K. Northway Van Cannon, 101, Boone/Ogden Accura Healthcare. Born in Boone. BHS. Married William Van Cannon in Madrid. Was a stay-at-home mother and housewife until starting a career at the Woodward State Hospital in the early 60's. She retired in the late 70's. She enjoyed fishing, mushroom hunting, crocheting, building and making doll houses and feeding the birds and squirrels. Survivors include her four adult children, Ronald, Jerry and Larry Van Cannon and Kathleen (Bruce) Maier. Services in Boone and Madrid.

BOONE CONNECTED DEATH

     Robin Brown, 56. 

     Rosalie Ann Hasstedt Johnson, 82, Boone/Westhaven. Born in Ogden. OHS-58. Lived and worked in Garner for a time. Returned to Ogden in 1963. In 1965, married Roland (Rollie) Johnson in Ogden. Started bookkeeping work for City State Bank in 1963 and served in several bank positions until retirement in 2001 as Vice President. Was a faithful member of Zion Lutheran Church, served on the Boone Humane Society Board and opened their home for the Christmas Tour of Homes for many years. The couple enjoyed flea markets and with Rollie's restored sprint car, they traveled the Midwest to attend Old Timer's races. Survivors include her daughter, Cathleen (Leslie Den Ouden) Carlson and a grandson, both of Boone. Services in Ogden.

BOONE CONNECTED DEATHS

     Nathan Joe Saetveit, 43, Ames. Born in Minnesota. New London-Spicer HS-98. Concordia-2002 with a double major in chemistry and Spanish and a double minor in math and music. Married Deb Sondall, BHS-96, in 2006. Nathan earned his PhD in analytical chemistry from ISU in 2008. For 14 years, was a senior scientist at Elemental Scientific Inc. in Omaha. He loved choral music and enjoyed performing with the Omaha Chamber Singers, Resonance and Capital Avenue Baroque. Survivors include his wife, Deb, and twin sons, his father-in-law, Don Sondall, and his brother-in-law, Mike (Natasha) Sondall, BHS-93, both of Boone. His mother-in-law, Judy Sondall, of Boone was among those who preceded him in death. Services in Omaha.

     Edward D. Baldwin, 53. Boone. Born in Nevada. Collins-Maxwell HS-87. DMACC. Worked at John Deere as a mechanic and for Webb Farms in Mitchellville until suffering some health problems. Later, worked at Bomgaars in Webster City after moving to Boone. Was a big fan of baseball and NASCAR. He was also a trivia buff. Survivors include his mother, Sondra Baldwin-Lyons of Boone. A sister and brother also survive. Services in Mingo.

     Betty Ione Price, 93, Ames. Born in Slater. Slater HS-46. Married Harry Price in 1950. Was the head baker at Friley Hall on the ISU campus for 25 years before retirement. Four adult children survive. Other survivors include one grandchild, Christina (Andy Stuart) Johannes, of Boone and two great grandchildren, Lucas and Raven Stuart of Boone.