John H. Kock

John H. Kock, former owner of Vail Trustworthy Hardware died on May 9, 2016 at Green Hills Health Care Center in Ames, IA.
John was born on November 28, 1922 at rural Breda, IA in Jackson Township. He was the son of Kathryn Mau Kock and John H. Kock, II. John lived on a farm near Breda with his parents and family until 1936. The family moved to a farm near Wall Lake, IA until 1941 at which point they moved to a farm north of Vail, IA. On Pentecost Sunday 1944, John joined the Catholic Church at St. Ann’s in Vail, IA.
On October 24, 1944, he married Veronica A. Costello at St. Ann’s Catholic Church in Vail. Rev. Dennis Clark officiated.
John and Vera farmed north of Vail until 1948 when they purchased Vail Hardware Co. In addition to selling hardware, John also did plumbing and heating. The variety store was later purchased from the Byrnes family. John & Vera ran it in conjunction with the hardware store. John also sold insurance for several years for Mutual of New York and M.F.A. Insurance Co. He worked as a plumbing and heating representative for Plumb’s Supply in Fort Dodge, IA while managing the hardware store in Vail.
John was owner and operator of Vail Trustworthy Hardware store for 43 years until his retirement in 1991. After retirement, he worked in Templeton for Rye Supply, a wholesale plumbing and heating company.
As a citizen of Vail, IA, John believed in taking a part in church and community affairs. He was Mayor of Vail for approximately ten years in the 1950s and 1960s. He was a board member of the Vail Medical Clinic and a member of the Vail Community Club for several years. John was a member of the Vail Volunteer Fire Department for over 25 years and served as Fire Chief for 6 of those years.
John played an active role in St. Ann’s Catholic Church in Vail, IA. He served on the St. Ann’s School Board, the St. Ann’s Finance Committee, was a member of the St. Ann’s Choir, and a Eucharistic minister and lector. He joined the Charles Carroll Council of the Knights of Columbus in 1945 and was a member of the 4th Degree Assembly 260 of Carroll, IA since 2014.
John was preceded in death by his father in 1987, his mother in 1996, and his brother Virgil in 1977. Left to cherish his memory are his wife, Veronica (Vera); his children: Keith Kock (Mary) from Cottage Grove, MN, Kathy Doyle from New Prague, MN, Shirley Mauss (Ed) from Carver, MN, Marilyn Wykoff (Jim) from Montezuma, IA, JoAnn Miller (Dan) from Ames, IA, Annette Kock from Yorktown, VA, and John Kock (Diane) from Pleasanton, CA; 20 grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren, 1 great-great-grandchild, sisters Lorene Thiede and Marian Riessen both of Harlan, several nieces and nephews including Regina Todd of Montezuma, IA and a host of friends.