William Tobin

Rock Rapids, IA        William “Bill” Tobin, age 85 of Rock Rapids, IA died Tuesday, September 26, 2017 at Sanford Hospital in Rock Rapids.      Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:30 AM, Thursday, Sept 28th at Holy Name Catholic Church in Rock Rapids.             Visitation will be Wednesday, Sept. 27th from 4:00 to 8:00 PM, with family present from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at Jurrens Funeral Home of Rock Rapids.  There will also be a 7:00 PM Vigil service at the funeral home Wednesday night.      Private family inurnment will be at Riverview Cemetery in Rock Rapids.        Memorials may be directed to Holy Name Church, 1108 S Carroll St, Rock Rapids, IA 51246 or City of Rock Rapids, 310 S 3rd Ave or the charity of your choice.        William George Tobin was born on August 3, 1932 in Mitchell, South Dakota, the son of George A. Tobin and Gunda Koppang Tobin. He began his early education at Notre Dame Academy in Mitchell, graduating from Notre Dame High School in 1950. He attended the University of South Dakota and Carroll College, Helena, MT, receiving his bachelor's and master's degrees from USD in Vermillion.           He was drafted during the Korean War and served two years in the Army Signal Corps with the Army of Occupation in Germany and was honorably discharged on September 1, 1955.        Bill married Ruth Bartlett on June 6, 1959 at St. James Catholic Church in Chamberlain, South Dakota. They made their home in Rock Rapids, Iowa, where they raised their seven children. Bill taught mathematics at Central Lyon for seven years, followed by a thirty-two-year career as an administrator with the City of Rock Rapids and the Rock Rapids Municipal Utilities; retiring in 1998. The retirement years were busy with travel, domestic and foreign, hunting, fishing and meeting with his coffee crew.        Survivors include his wife of 58 years, Ruth, his children, Cathy Wingler (Dale), Mankato, MN; John (Mary), Yorba Linda, CA; Mark (Shauna), Morristown, AZ; James, Rock Rapids; Paul, Larchwood, IA; Bill D. (Yu-Ta), Houston, TX and Beth Lin (Richard), Sioux Falls, SD. He is also survived by seven grandchildren, Jeffery Tobin, Kristin Weaver, Lyndsay Tobin, Cassie Virag, Olivia Tobin, Sierra Tobin and Isabella Tobin; and great-grandchildren, Aubree, Nixon and Boston Tobin.          He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Mary Alice.