Richard Sobaski

BRIGHTON ? Richard James Sobaski, 90, of Brighton died Monday, April 10, 2017, in the Washington County Hospital in Washington.

A funeral Mass will be at 10 a.m., Tuesday, April 18, at Ss. Joseph and Cabrini Catholic Church in East Pleasant Plain with the Rev. Charles J. Fladung officiating. Burial will follow in St. Joseph Cemetery in East Pleasant Plain. Family visitation will be from 4:30 to 7 p.m., Monday at the church, followed by a short prayer service. Memorials to University of Iowa Foundation (Macular Degeneration Research), Ss. Joseph and Cabrini Church or St. Joseph Cemetery may be left at the church or mailed to the family at 3245 Dogwood Avenue, Brighton, IA 52540. Arrangements are in the care of Gould Funeral Home in Brighton.

Mr. Sobaski was born Sept. 19, 1926, the son of Anthony ?Tony? Paul Sobaski and Helena Elizabeth (Bechen) Sobaski. He met his wife, Lucille Simmons, at a church picnic the summer of 1953 in Ottumwa. The couple were married on Feb. 20, 1954, at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Ottumwa.

He was a lifelong resident of the rural Brighton community. In his early years he attended Brighton Schools and was a member of St. Mary?s Catholic Church in Polishville. He worked with his family on the farm and traveled wheat fields of Nebraska and South Dakota, threshing. He served in the Army as a drill sergeant during the Korean War at Fort Hood, Texas. After their marriage, he and his wife began their lives together farming in the Brighton area. They made St. Joseph Church in East Pleasant Plain their home parish. His passion was farming, along with restoring antique cars. He was a member of the Southeast Iowa Antique Car Club, Brighton Lions Club, and a past member of the Washington County Hospital Board of Directors.

Surviving are one daughter, Brenda Morris and husband Dennis of Prole; two sons, Tony Sobaski and wife Karla of Brighton, and Don Sobaski and wife Kara of Brighton; eight grandchildren; one great-grandchild; and one sister, Evelyn (Sobaski) Adam of Fairfield.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Lucille; his parents; and his older brother, Robert Sobaski.