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Obituary

Raymond Peter Paul Bogonowski Beggs, 84, of Burlington, died at 2:31 AM Friday, February 1, 2008, at the Great River Medical Center in West Burlington. Born Tuesday, December 18, 1923, in Omaha, Nebraska, he was the son of Peter Paul and Emma Marie Ficenec Bogonowski. He married Arlene Stigge in 1942. They later divorced.On February 23, 1957, he married Mary Katherine Willson McCannon in Monmouth, IL. Ray worked at Gardener & Gould and then at Campbell Chain until it closed in 1970, and retired from Leopolds Upholstrey Company in 1985. He attended Seventh Day Adventist Church where he was a member of the Quartet. He attended Lincoln School in Omaha, NE, Valley Spring Elementary in South Sioux Falls, SD, Canasota School in South Dakota, and Oak Park Academy in Nevada, IA. He was an avid John Wayne fan, enjoyed woodworking, crossword puzzles, the Dodgers, and the Iowa Hawkeyes. In his younger years, he enjoyed fishing and duck hunting. He loved to play his harmonica and his special puppies Snoopy, deceased, Rusty and Ebony (Doxies). Survivors include his wife of 50 years, Mary of Burlington; five sons, Dennis R. (Deborah) Beggs, Rickey D. (Laurie) Beggs, Kevin B. (Cindy) McCannon, Marc A. (Irene) Beggs, and Christopher A. (Christy) Beggs, all of Burlington, IA; three daughters, Linda L. (Larry) Ballard of Benton Harbor, MI, Deborah C. Casady of Burlington, Cindy L. (Steve) Robinson of Rockton, IL; 17 grandchildren, Charlene, Travis, Jim, Shane, Michelle, Dereck, Andrew, Raymond, Melissa, DeAnn, Marcus, Trent, Chad, Tyler, Michael, Daniel, Alisha; 22 great-grandchildren, Valerie, Samantha, Arianna, Brenna Rae, Laurence, ShaLee Lin, Brenna, Mikayla, Ryan, Bradley, Trent, Ashley, Alisha, Augustina, Alexandra, Alicia, Zachary, Abby, Zackary, Stormi, Wyatt, and Aliyah; two great-great-grandchildren, DaShawna and Bryan; two sisters, Ruth Varriano of Prague, NE, and Dorothy Deen of Lebanon, MO; one special brother in law, Terry Willson of Dewitt, and one special niece Laura Willson and numerous other nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, one daughter, Kathleen, three grandchildren, Sabrina, Shawn, and Angelia, one great-grandson, Drake, and one sister, Dolores Harbin. Visitation will be from 8:00 AM until 8:00 PM with the family to receive friends from 6:00 PM until 8:00 PM, Tuesday, February 5 at the Hass-Thielen Funeral Home. The Funeral Service for Raymond will be 1:30 PM Wednesday, February 6, 2008, in the Chapel of the Hass-Thielen Funeral Home with Pastor Dean Moberg officiating. As per Ray's request his body will be cremated after the funeral service. Inurnment will be in Aspen Grove Cemetery at a later date. In lieu of flowers, a memorial has been established in his memory.