Darleen Rose (Grote) Hockenberry, 94, of Anita, Iowa, passed away peacefully Friday, September 2, 2022 at the Heritage House in Atlantic, Iowa.
Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. at First Evangelical Lutheran Church south of Wiota, IA, on Wednesday, September 7, 2022, with Rev. Mike Bodkins officiating. Committal will be at First Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery following the funeral service.
Visitation with the family will take place from 5 – 7 p.m., on Tuesday, September 6, 2022, at the Schmidt Family Funeral Home of Atlantic, IA.
Darleen Rose Grote was born on August 17, 1928 in South Dakota to John and Anna Grote. She was the youngest of 8 children. The family moved to a farm south of Wiota when Darleen was 5 months old. Darleen attended Franklin Country School. On February 15, 1948, she married Marvin M. Hockenberry in the United Methodist Church Parsonage in Atlantic. Marvin and Darleen lived in Lewis, Wiota, and Anita, Iowa. Darleen lived at the Heritage House in Atlantic for the last 4 1/2 years where she enjoyed seeing friends and receiving excellent care.
Darleen worked at a number of places during her life including the F.W. Woolworth Store, DevinShire Motel, and Jim’s SuperValu all in Atlantic. She also enjoyed babysitting for her grandchildren.
Darleen was a member of the First Evangelical Lutheran Church of Wiota and the Wiota Boosters. She and Marvin were master gardeners and participated in Farmer’s Markets in Audubon, Anita, Atlantic, Massena, and Carroll from 1988-2011. She was an expert at canning vegetables and made incredible homemade chicken and noodles, which were a favorite of her children and grandchildren. Darleen also loved to embroider and made many beautiful dish towels, pillow cases, and quilts.
Preceding Darleen in death were her husband Marvin; her parents John and Anna Grote; her siblings: Glen Grote (Bertha), Gladys Christensen (Ted), Hazel Muzzy (Donald), Howard Grote (Eva), Lena Gilliam (John), Lillie Behrends (Ernie), and Robert Grote (Freda).
Surviving Darleen are her sons: Duane (Marcia) Hockenberry of Anita, Dennis (Janelle) Hockenberry of Wiota, Darrell (Lynn) Hockenberry of Anita, and David (Laurie) Hockenberry, also of Anita. She is also survived by her grandchildren: Jason (Bryn Barnes) Hockenberry of Castle Rock, Colorado; Justin (Marcia Casteel) Hockenberry of Anita, Iowa; Jonathan (Allison Newberg) of Des Moines, Iowa; Megan (Jeremy) Cook of Grimes, Iowa; Eric (Danielle) Hockenberry of Slater, Iowa; and Coulton (Brittany) Honeck of Anita, Iowa. In addition, Darleen is survived by her great-grandchildren: Ben Bruce, Maya Bruce, and Sam Barnes of Castle Rock, Colorado; Charlee and Chloe Hockenberry of Anita; Hannah and Lucas Cook of Grimes; Joelle and Henry Hockenberry of Slater; Myah and Owen Honeck of Anita; as well as many nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.
