Claire E. 'Pudge' Hoekstra

      RICHLAND - Claire E. "Pudge" Hoekstra, 75, of Richland, died Sunday, May 1, 2005, at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics following a brief illness.

      Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, May 4, 2005, at Richland United Methodist Church, with the Rev. Kim Gates and the Rev. Peggy Egbert officiating. Burial will be in Richland Friends Cemetery, with military honors to be accorded by American Legion Post No. 504. Open visitation at Gould Funeral Home in Richland will begin at 3 p.m., Tuesday, with the family present from 6 to 8 p.m. Memorials have been established for Richland Volunteer First Responders and Foundation Fighting Blindness (Macular Degeneration).

      Mr. Hoekstra was born Oct. 13, 1929, in Galesburg, to Andrew and Clara (DeBruyn) Hoekstra. He married Helen Huff in Richland on June 2, 1951.