Wallace "Wally" John Babl

A memorial service celebration of his life is being planned by the family for a later date. Announcements will be made when plans are finalized. Wallace John Wally Babl passed away peacefully on February 11, 2011 in Rock Rapids, IA following a long illness. He was 84 years old. Wally was born in Boone, IA on July 24, 1926 and moved to Rock Rapids with his parents and sister in 1930. He attended local schools, was selected to represent Rock Rapids High School at Boys State in 1943 and was president of his senior class in 1944. He was in a group of students that survived a dramatic accident one night in the fall of 1943, when a car struck the hayrack they were riding in north of town. Wally suffered a broken neck and finished his senior year wearing a body cast and neck brace. Wally enjoyed a long and productive career with the U.S. Postal Service, beginning as a carrier and clerk in Rock Rapids. In the 1960s he relocated to a base in Rock Island, IL where he served as a Postal Inspector from Chicago to St. Louis. He served as Postmaster at Moline, IL until his retirement in the early 1980s. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in World War II, served in Atlantic and Pacific campaigns and was later called to the Korean conflict. He periodically attended Iowa State University and the University of Iowa. For several years after retirement he played lead cornet for a Doon-based dance band that performed throughout the Tri-State area. He also lived briefly in Miami, FL, returning to Rock Rapids to help his aging parents at home. Wally was preceded in death by his parents, Leo and Leona. Survivors include a sister Mary (Babl) Hindt of Cupertino, CA. and brothers Robert and Richard of Miami, FL.