Daily Times Herald, Carroll, IA, April 4, 2008
Carroll—Mass of the Christian burial for Michael August Wittrock of Carroll will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, April 5, 2008, at St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Carroll.
Mr. Wittrock, 94, founder and longtime owner of Wittrock Motors in Carroll, died Wednesday, April 2, at St. Anthony Nursing Home in Carroll.
The Rev. Timothy Schott will preside at the Mass. Lectors will be Alex Collison, Julia Patzelt, David Wittrock and Michael Collison. Gift bearers will be Natalie Collison, Abby Wittrock and Avery Wittrock. Eucharistic ministers will be Betty Pollastrini, Jean Knobbe, Ken Shibata and Maria Shibata. Music will be by flutist Emily Patzelt and the St. Lawrence Choir.
Casket bearers will be Mr. Wittrock's grandchildren: Charles Collison, Nicholas Collison, Edward Patzelt, Dominic Provopulos, Robert Provopulos and Kevin Wittrock. Honorary casket bearers will be Mark Beardmore, Dr. William Blohm, Dr. William Erps, John Heider, Urban Knobbe, James Kanne, John Longnecker, Leo Mayer, Raymond Pollastrini, Gerald Rettenmaier, Ken Shibata, Archie Schug, Gus Schroeder and Dr. James Tierney.
Burial will be in Mount Olivet Cemetery at Carroll.
Visitation started at 4 this afternoon at Dahn and Woodhouse Funeral Home in Carroll. A Christian wake service will be held at 6:30 tonight at the funeral home.
The family suggests memorial contributions to St. Anthony Regional Hospice, Kuemper Catholic Schools, St. Anthony Nursing Home or New Hope Village in lieu of flowers.
A son of Henry and Anna (Springer) Wittrock, he was born May 13, 1913, at Okarche, Okla., and graduated from high school there. Mr. Wittrock's parents died when he was young and he was raised by his sister, Theresa.
He worked for his family's business in Oklahoma, which brought him to Carroll. He met his future wife, Alberta Marcucci, at Carroll Candy Kitchen. They were married Oct. 12, 1937, at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Carroll with Rev. Schenkelberg presiding.
Mr. Wittrock began work as a salesman for his cousin, Kelly Stallman, at Stallman Motor Co. in Carroll in 1935. He bought the business in 1939 and it remains a Wittrock family operation today.
The original dealership, located at the southwest corner of U.S. 30 and Carroll Street, sold Chrysler, Plymouth, Desoto and Packard cars as well as Norge appliances. Carroll had three Plymouth dealerships at the time.
Mr. Wittrock closed the dealership from 1941 through 1945 during World War II while he worked at a defense plant in California, building aircraft engines.
He moved the dealership to the corner of U.S. 30 and Grant Road in 1969. The following year he moved to the historic former McCoy Motors building at the northeast corner of U.S. 30 and Carroll Street. Mr. Wittrock sold the dealership to son Michael, who with wife Ingrid restored the property. The dealership remained there until moving to a new facility at the U.S. 71-30 Junction in 2005. Michael Wittrock sold the business to son Kevin earlier this year.
Mr. Wittrock owned and managed several farms over the years and served on the Carroll County Board of Assessors and the Carroll Airport Commission. He was a member and usher at St. Lawrence Parish, was 2006 grand marshal of the Carroll Band Day parade and enjoyed golfing.
Survivors include his wife, Alberta, of Carroll; five children: Diane Collison of Chicago, Ill., Michael E. Wittrock and wife Ingrid of Carroll, Linda Rogers of Myrtle Beach, S.C., Lucia Patzelt and husband Dr. Lawrence of Grand Rapids Mich., and David Wittrock and wife Barbara of Hillsborough, Calif.; 16 grandchildren; 19 great-grandchildren; and a sister-in-law, Jeanie Marcucci, of Pensacola, Fla.
Mr. Wittrock was preceded in death by his parents, seven brothers, three sisters and a brother-in-law.
