A.E. "Abbie" Hockemeier

Long-time Ray County farmer and businessman, A. E. Hockemeier, known by all as "Abbie", died Saturday, March 14, at Ray County Memorial Hospital at the age of 95.

Abbie was born into a farming family in Norborne, MO, the youngest of five children of William H. and Lydia Ahnefeld Hockemeier who immigrated from Germany in 1889. Lydia died within days of his birth of an infection. All of his siblings, Carl and William (Billy) Hockemeier, Mrs. William (Ida) Steffens and Mrs. Rudolph (Ella) Heil, preceded him in death.

Abbie married Rosemary Wegeng of Norborne in 1947. Her college nickname, "Pepper", suited her well and she and Abbie were partners in life and in business. She drove grain trucks to the elevator as he harvested wheat and took hot lunches to Abbie and their four sons when they worked in the field. She also supervised the "Hockemeier Crew" as they cut weeds out of soybeans.

Abbie is survived by the four sons, seven grandchildren and five great grandchildren: John Curtis and Nancy Hockemeier of Roswell, GA, their son, Taylor, and Holly Hockemeier and Haylen of Denver, CO, and two daughters, Greer Hockemeier of Bethlehem, PA and Sloane Hockemeier of Brooklyn, NY; Farrell Douglas and Peggy Hockemeier of Richmond and two daughters, Heidi and Dustin Nofsinger and Gabriel, Madelin and Ellie of Liberty, MO, and Jessica Hockemeier of Richmond; William Max and Debra Hockemeier, of Richmond and their two sons, Ben and Olivia Hockemeier and Harper, of Richmond, and Gus Hockemeier of Richmond; and Aaron Bradley Hockemeier of Kansas City.

Abbie served in the U.S. Army for the entirety of World War II in the Pacific Theater.

When he returned from the War he began his farming career in Norborne, MO, and in 1951 he moved his young family to Henrietta, MO where he was among the first farmers in the area to grow soybeans, deploy center-pivot irrigation and grow seed for both the University of Missouri and Garst and Thomas Seed Corn Company. He sold insurance for years for Farmers Insurance Group and launched Hockemeier Seeds, which sold certified seed to local farmers. Abbie was a founding director of the Ray/Lafayette Levee District which secured federal funding to create a flood control system of levees and pumps which today protect 20,000 acres of Missouri River Valley farmland. Abbie was President and served on the Board of the Levee District for 18 years.

He was confirmed in the Lutheran Church in 1933 but frequently joined his family in attending the Richmond United Methodist Church. Rosemary and Abbie were honored by the City of Richmond and twice by the Richmond Rotary Club for their beautification work. Abbie was named a "Friend of Agriculture" by the Ray County Farm Bureau in 2013 and twice was the Missouri State Soybean Yield Champion. The Missouri Seed Improvement Association honored Abbie with its Premier Seed Grower Award and the Ray Soil and Water Conservation District twice cited him for "Outstanding Service".

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Richmond (MO) Beautification Fund or the Farris Theater of Richmond, MO in care of Thurman Funeral Home, 507 E. Main Street, Richmond, MO 64085.

The service will be held at the Farris Theater in Richmond, Saturday, March 21, at 10:30 a.m. with a visitation following. Burial will be in the Missouri State Veterans Cemetery in Higginsville on Monday, March 23, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. where military honors will be provided by the Ray County Veterans. On line condolences may be left on our website at www.thurmanfuneralhome.com