03/28/2008
John D. Liike of Knoxville, died March 28, 2008, in Clinton, Ark., after a three-year
battle with prostate cancer.
John was born in Knoxville on Feb. 16, 1926, to Lee
Liike and Edith (Cain) Liike. He received his education in the Marion County Schools.
John served in the US Army with the 101st Airborne Division stationed in Japan.
Upon discharge from military service he attended Simpson College and graduated with
a BS in Chemistry.
In 1950, he went to work for Firestone Tire and Rubber Company
in Des Moines. During his 32 years with Firestone he worked in several production
and technical positions. He retired to the Liike Family Farm and enjoyed maintaining
and improving the farm, watching the crops, and tending to his big John was a Grand
Mason; he was a 50-year member of the Logic Lodge # 636 Ankeny. John is preceded
in death by his parents.
He is survived by his wife Sandy; brother William Liike,
St. Paul, Minn.; five children, Donald (Rose) Liike, Wichita KS; John "Jack" Liike,
Hampton, Va.; Kathleen (David) Hesseman, Augusta, Ga.; Lee Liike, Des Moines; and
Amy Honore, Westmont Ill.; and three step-children, Lisa (Scotty) Robinson, Kaiserslautern,
Germany; Tina (John) Neal, Fort Belvoir, Va.; and Dana (Melissa) Olmstead, Des Moines.
Also surviving are seven grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, and six step-grandchildren.
A memorial service celebrating John's life was conducted at the Cornerstone Evangelical
Church, Fairfield Bay, Ark., on March 29, 2008. A second memorial service will be
held in Knoxville, at a later date. Interment will be in Graceland Cemetery, Knoxville.
A memorial honoring John will be established in the near future.