ALFRED KOEBERL

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Alfred F. Koeberl, 88, of Chaffee and formerly of Pocahontas, Mo., died Sunday, July 15, 2001, at Chaffee Nursing Center.

He was born Jan. 25, 1913, in Pocahontas to Herman and Anna Louise Leimer Koeberl.

He married Rosa Caroline Thauwald on April 17, 1938, at Immanuel Lutheran Church at New Wells. She died April 9, 2000.

He was a lifelong member of St. John's Lutheran Church in Pocahontas. He worked for 40 years at Bowman Milling Col. in Pocahontas and 20 years at the church as a custodian. In 1981, he received special recognition for ringing the church bells 444 days straight from Nov. 4, 1979, to Jan. 20, 1981, to commemorate the Iranian hostage crisis.

He and his wife lived in Pocahontas until 1990, when they moved to Scott City, Mo. They entered the Chaffee Nursing Center in 1999.

Survivors include two daughters, Shirley Brown of Scott City and Velma Hecht of St. Charles; one sister, Esther Leimbach of Jackson; eight grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; and four great-great grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by a son, Donald Koeberl; one grandson and three brothers.

Friends may call from 4-8 p.m. today at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson and at the church after 10 a.m. Tuesday. Services will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the St. John's Lutheran Church in Pocahontas with the Rev. John Kiehl officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.