Stephen P. Doebele

Stephen Phillip Doebele, 100, Hanover, died Friday, June 4, 2010, at Hanover Hospital. A rosary service was held at 7 p.m., Thursday at the church. A Mass of Christian Burial was held at 10 a.m. Friday, June 11, at St. John’s Catholic Church, Hanover. Father David Metz officiated. Janet Fritschi played the organ while Jodi Sullivan sang. The pallbearers were Mark Doebele, Darrell Doebele, Richard Doebele, Rodney Doebele, David Thiel and Dennis White. Burial was in the church cemetery. Stephen was born November 19, 1909, at a farm three miles west of Hanover, the son of Phillip and Nora Meier Doebele. He attended Bismark School until the seventh grade. On May 31, 1933, he married Martha Shaffer of Greenleaf. He worked on the farm for a year before he was employed by Coop Gas Station. After working there for four years, he rented a gas station from John Muller, which he later bought and named O.K. Service Inc. In 1955, he expanded the company from gasoline to include propane. In 1986, the business expanded and he bought Coop Gas Station, Hanover. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Hanover City Fire Department. He enjoyed shooting blue rock. Survivors include his sons, Loren and Dennis Doebele, both of Hanover; his daughter, Marilyn Hassler, Hanover; his sister Josephine Bray, Arkansas; 11 grandchildren; 38 great-grandchildren; and 16 great-great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, in April 1979; his brothers, Urban Doebele and Frank Doebele; his sisters Margaret Koppes and Nora Thiel; and his grandson Michael. A memorial has been established and will be designated at a later date. Contributions may be sent in care of Hanover Mortuary. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Stephen P. Doebele, please visit our flower store.