Shawn Hockenberry

Shawn Scott Hockenberry, 31, of Atlantic, Iowa, died Sunday, April 7, 2013, of heart failure.

We want you to know who Shawn was. He was born January 30, 1982, to Scott and Kathie (Hogue) Hockenberry in Des Moines, Iowa, in a big hurry and stayed that way. He was a very curious little boy, examining everything he could get his hands on, usually disassembling it.
At the age of one, the family moved to Sioux City, Iowa. Shawn attended school there until the family moved to Atlantic, Iowa, in 1998. Shawn graduated from Atlantic High School in 2000. He then went to Iowa Western in Council Bluffs for a year and later started at IPR (Institute of Production and Recording) in Minneapolis until health reasons made him move back home.

When he was in first grade he developed a passion for T-ball, which then led to baseball. In grade school he knew the statistics of most all the top professional baseball players. He and the local postmaster would have quite detailed conversations about the stats and Shawn would get his cards out they would discuss them. When he wasn't playing ball at the fields he was playing in the church parking lot with friends. When he was in the third grade he bowled on a team after someone quit. He took the bronze medal at the Iowa Games in Ames that year. In fifth grade he was voted school president after he ran for election.

He played on the all star baseball teams every summer. He made it to the Iowa All Stars which is a team from across Iowa who played in the Hap Dumont Little League World Series. He also was involved in football and wrestling.

When Shawn was 13 he and his dad, Scott, rode a tandem bicycle across America. They started in Long Beach, California, and rode with 300 people across America ending in Rehoboth Beach, Maryland. It was the Iowa 150 Sesquicentennial Celebration led by Chuck Offenburger in 1995. Out of the 300 people on the trip only a dozen or so were teenagers. It took 100 days and traveled over 5000 miles.

He then went on to pursue the biggest and best fish he could find. He would fish constantly. It brought him a quiet solitude he enjoyed. The biggest love he had that pertained to hobbies or work was that of music. He would spend endless hours producing music, mixing music, listening to music, anything that had to do with music was his goal.

Shawn had the best sense of humor you could be lucky enough to be around. If you were with him for even an hour, you would be laughing. He could remember movie quips and slogans, or make his own out of them, and repeat them back at the most suitable time for a hilarious bit of entertainment.

Shawn was unlucky enough to have multiple tragedies in his life but had worked incredibly hard on the negative aspects and was being successful. He has two daughters he loved as deeply as any parent can relate to. They were his life and soul and helped make him a better person. He had a fiancé he loved and was planning on spending a lifetime with. Shawn's family and close friends were not just important to him, they were his life source. He loved genuinely and was not afraid to say it.

Those who have preceded Shawn in death are his father, Scott Hockenberry; his grandparents, Larry and Shirley Hogue and Don and Maxine Hockenberry; and his aunt, Kelly Christiansen.

Those left to remember him with love and unparalleled memories are his daughters, Brianna Lynn (Hockenberry) Belnap and Zoey Lee Hockenberry; his mother, Kathie Hockenberry of Atlantic, IA; his sister and brother-in-law, Karyn and Jay Powell of Greeley, CO and their children, Reagan and Nolan; his fiancé, Samantha Schroeder of Atlantic, IA; his brothers by love, friendship and admiration, Preston Harter of Atlantic, IA and Jason Sardesen of San Francisco, CA; uncles and aunts; Brad Hogue of Colorado, Keary (Sheri) Hogue of Harlan, IA, Deb (Russ) Mangels of Waukee, IA, Mark (Carla) Hogue of Omaha, NE, Kevin (Michele) Hogue of Oxford, IA and Kolin (Amy) Hogue of Washington, IA; many cousins; and many friends.

Visitation will be from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 10, 2013, at Hockenberry Family Care in Atlantic, Iowa.

Funeral services for Shawn will be 11:00 a.m., Thursday, April 11, 2013, also at Hockenberry Family Care in Atlantic. Burial will be in the Atlantic Cemetery.

Hockenberry Family Care in Atlantic, Iowa, is handling all the arrangements.