Wesley Hochgraber Obituary 

In Memory Wesley "wes" Andrew Hochgraber

Wesley Andrew Hochgraber, 81, of 3304 Harrison died at 6:45PM Wednesday (September 10, 2003) in his home.

Borlin April 25, 1922 in Adams County, he was a son of Esra and Dororthy Blickhan Hochgraber.  He married Elizabeth "Betty" Roehl on Sept 23, 1950, in Carthage.  She survives.  Wes and Betty celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 2000.

Wesley attended Adams and Webster schools and graduated from Quincy High School in 1940.  His served his country in the U.S. Air Force from October 4, 1942 to January 6, 1946, with the 93rd Airdrone Squadron in Australia, New Guinea and the Philippines, receiving two Bronze Battle Starts.  

Wes was a member of Madison Park Christian Church and the EverReady Class.  He was also a member of the Elks Lodge 100 in Quincy.  Wes and Betty traveled extensively throughout the United States in their motorhome, wintering in Arizona and Florida.  They made several trips to the Netherlands to visit friends there.

Wes always had a love for animals.  From the time he was a small boy he had pet squirrels.  He later had a dog, a monkey, tow pet foxes (which he raised from pups) and a pet crow, who would fly to meet Wes every night coming home from work.  He passed his love of animals to both his daughters and his grandchildren.  

Wes was self employed in the house moving business, starting in 1946.  He moved houses extensively in Illinois and Missouri. particularly moving all of the building on the right-of-way for the State of Missouri from Palmyra to Monroe City for construction of U.S. 24.  He was instrumental in the moving of the log cabin to 13th and State for the Quincy Historical Society in 2002.  He also moved several log cabins to Quinsippi Island for the Quincy Park District and raised many camps along the bay after the flood of 1973.  He moved machinery and equipment for many of the industrial factories of Quincy and Hannibal, Mo., and was instrumental in repairing the steeple of Salem Church. 

Survivors include his wife, Betty; two daughters, Sandra Sue Whittaker and her husband, Roger, and Carol Ann Keller and her husband, Ken, all of Quincy; three grandchildren, Shaun Whittaker, Heather Keller and Sarah Keller, of of Quincy; two brother, Virgil Hochgraber and his wife, Ramona, and Earl Hochgraber and his wife, Joan, all of Quincy; and several nieces and nephews.  

He was preceded in death by his parents and a brother, Edgar "Ted" Hochgraber, who was killed in action in France on August 14, 1944.

Services will be at 10 AM Monday in Madison Park Christian Church with the Rev. Larry Smith, the Rev. Keith Ehresman and the Rev. Dennis Hochgraber officiating.  Burial will be in the Greenmount Cemetery.