Obituary of Eugene Leroy Onken

Eugene L. Onken, 72, of Niles, passed away at his home late on Saturday, April 20, 2019, with his family by his side.

Gene was born on April 23, 1946, to Arthur and Delores (Medlin) Onken in Osage, Iowa.  While working for Jessup Door Company Gene was drafted in to the United States Army.  He proudly served two years and after returning he went to work for Simplicity before moving to Garden City Fan.  He worked there for 31 years until their closure.  After they closed he couldn’t sit idle and decided to go to work for National Standard where he stayed for eight years.  

In 1994 Gene met Susan (Johnson) Bobus and the two have celebrated 25 wonderful years together.  Gene was a musician and spent over 30 years in a band in his younger years.  He and Susan enjoyed karaoke and even ran and operated G.O. Karaoke where they held events at many local establishments.  He was also an outdoors enthusiast, when his children were younger they spent many hours outdoors with him stacking wood, helping in the garden, and just having fun.  He also liked camping, fishing, singing, and traveling to Iowa to see his father.

He was preceded in death by his father, Arthur Onken in January of 2018; son, Kevin Onken; and sister, Janice Evans.

Gene is survived by his mother, Delores Hesser of Dowagiac; partner of 25 years, Susan Bobus of Niles; children, Dawn Monica of Niles, Staci (Billy) Meggs of Niles, Matthew (Tina) Onken of Elkhart; step-children, Matthew (Audrey) Bobus of Chicago and Sarah Bobus of Sunnyvale, California; grandchildren, Paige Monica of Niles, Chloe (Nikholas Sedam) Monica of Charleston, South Carolina, Tyler (Kassandra) Meggs, Joseph Monica of Niles, Jacob Kimbrough of Niles, Zoey Swisher of Niles, and one more on the way; six great-grandchildren with one on the way; siblings, Joyce Lotsbaich of Niles, Don (Valorie) Hesser of Marcellus, Debbie Hesser of Edwardsburg, and Scott (Heidi) Hesser of the Detroit area; and many extended family members and close friends.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, April 26, 2019, at Noon with a time of visitation two hours prior at Mission Hills Memorial Chapel. 

Memorial contributions may be made in Gene’s memory to the Nikki Mitchell Foundation located at P. O. Box 68305, Nashville, TN 37206.