|
|
Frederick K. Blessin 1917 - 2008 One of the founders of the QCBC
Frederick K. Blessin, 90, of Davenport, died Tuesday, March 18, 2008, at Genesis Medical Center, West Campus, Davenport. Celebration of Life services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, March 22, 2008, at Weerts Funeral Home, 3625 Jersey Ridge Road, Davenport. Visitation will be from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. prior to the service. Burial will be in Davenport Memorial Park. Memorials may be made to St. Paul Lutheran Church, Davenport.
Mr. Blessin was born in 1917 in West Union, Iowa, to Fred G. and Anna I. Blessin. He received his Engineering degree from the University of Iowa in 1941. He served with the U.S. Navy as an electronic technician during World War II on the Battleship Massachusetts. Fred worked at Deere and Company, Moline, for 10 years. Later he worked at the Rock Island Arsenal as a test engineer, retiring in 1979 after 25 years.
He married Betty Ann Cass on December 11, 1954, in Davenport. She died in May 1975. On May 5, 1990, Fred married Mary C. Beagle in Eldorado, Iowa, at St. Peter's Lutheran Church, founded by his grandfather, Pastor Gustav Blessin.
His memberships included Quad-Cities World Affairs Council, Association to Unite the Democracies, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Nature Conservancy, and the Bicycle Adventure Club (International Bicycle Touring Society). He was a "50 Year Member" of the Blackhawk Hiking Club, of which he was very active. He attended St. Paul Lutheran Church, Davenport, where he ushered. Earlier, he was an active member of St. Mark's Lutheran Church, Davenport. His church involvement included singing in the choir, ushering and assisting in many other ways. Fred was a religious man who enjoyed his Bible Study Classes.
Fred was also a charter member of the Quad-Cities Bicycle Club, which he and two others organized in 1964. He was on the Board of Directors and served as President at times thereafter. He was instrumental in the development of the Duck Creek Recreational Trail. He taught "Effective Cycling Courses" offered through the Davenport Community School District. Fred was an avid bicyclist. Even at the age of 75, Fred still managed to ride from 3,000 to 4,000 miles per year. He continued to ride into his 80s. He rode for over 70 years and by his estimate racked up over 275,000 miles.
During retirement Fred was an active volunteer. He delivered Meals-on-Wheels weekly for 25 years. He also purchased groceries for the St. Mark's Lutheran Church Food Pantry weekly during those years. He tutored a blind engineering student.
Those left to honor him include his wife, Mary; sister, Elizabeth Bruner, of Minneapolis, Minn.; a brother, James (Kyoko) Blessin, of San Francisco, Calif.; stepdaughters, Susan Berdahl, of Laredo, Texas, Karen (James) Martinek, of Solon, Iowa, Barbara (Randy) Stewart, of Laytonsville, Md., Betty Lee (Dan) Schrein, of Smith Mountain Lake, Va., and Robin (Tony) Roberts, of Davenport; eight step-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.
Fred was a quiet, gentle man with a smile for all. He will be missed.
Online condolences may be expressed to Mr. Blessin's family by visiting his obituary at www.WeertsFH.com.
Published in the Quad-City Times on 3/20/2008.
Need The FREE Acrobat program to read PDFs?
Click the button to get the Acrobat Reader
Site Maintained by:Galley Graphics
This site is best viewed at 1024 or higher resolutionThis page was last updated
|
