Obituary for John Otho Brokaw

John Otho Brokaw, 68, of Urbana, Iowa passed away Saturday morning, January 20, 2007 after a long, couragerous battle with cancer. Memorial services will be held Wednesday, January 24, at 4:00 p.m. at the Urbana Christian Church with Rev. Tom Felts officiating. Inurnment will be in the Urbana Cemetery at a later date. Friends may call at the church after 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday to meet with the family. A meal and time of fellowship will follow the service at the church. John is survived by his wife of 38 years, Janice, daughters Joanne Taylor of Urbana, Iowa, Julie Peet (Greg) of Rockford, Illinois, sons Jeff Brokaw (Mi Ae) of Bolingbrook, Illinois, Joel Brokaw (Deb) of Martelle, Iowa, brother Don Brokaw (Lynne) of Marion, Iowa, sister in laws Jane Brokaw of Marion, Iowa and Lois Wickman of Hiawatha, Iowa, and brother in law Ray (Gretchen) O’Dell of Rochester, Minnesota. John was blessed with 9 grandchildren, 2 great grandchildren and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. John was born April 30, 1938 and grew up on a farm around the Anamosa area. He graduated from Morley High School in 1955. He married Janice O’Dell on June 27, 1969 at the Little Brown Church in Nashua, Iowa. He worked for Rockwell-Collins until 1993 and was a member of the Veterans Public Safety Unit in Cedar Rapids from 1974 until 1987. After he retired from Rockwell, he decided to pursuer his dream of driving a semi. He drove from 1995 until 2005. He was an elder in the Urbana Christian Church and attended Bible studies. He enjoyed studying his Bible, bird watching, woodworking and his family. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.