Paul C. Mockler, 84, won boxing matches while serving in the Army Air Forces during World War II and later built his own home and insurance business in Elgin, where he lived much of his life. “He had such stamina,” said his wife, Ida. “He would work eight hours, then go work on the new house.” In recent years a resident of Sleepy Hollow, Mr. Mockler died of pneumonia Saturday, Jan. 3, in St. Joseph Hospital, Elgin. Mr. Mockler was born in Blackberry Township in Kane County. His mother moved to the Elgin-Dundee area from the family farm after Mr. Mockler’s father died when he was a toddler. He graduated from Elgin High School in 1938 and went to work as a polisher and buffer at McGraw-Edison Electric Co., an appliance manufacturer in East Dundee. “He wanted to go on to medical school but he did not have the funds,” said his wife. He enlisted in the Army Air Forces in 1942, serving as a crew chief on a B-29 with the 73rd Bomb Wing stationed at Saipan Island. He dove for shells off Saipan, crafting them into jewelry to sell to other GIs as gifts to send home to their wives and mothers, his wife said. While being trained on military aircraft near Salina, Kan., he was light-heavyweight champion in Army boxing matches. After his discharge in 1945, he returned to his job and Elgin, meeting his wife in 1947 at a Halloween dance at the Blue Moon Ballroom. They got married on Valentine’s Day in 1948. In the mid-1950s he took a certification course to become an insurance broker. “Paul believed in [life insurance] very much, after losing his dad and his mom didn’t have a cent,” his wife said. Mr. Mockler started Mockler Insurance Agency in Elgin, running it for nearly 30 years until 1985, when he sold the business and retired. Mr. Mockler was a 40-year member of the Elgin Lions Club and volunteered with a Boy Scout troop. Other survivors include a son, Paul J.; two daughters, Janine Tanner and Belinda; and two grandsons. Visitation will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday in Madison Funeral Home, 305 Park St., Elgin. A service will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday in the Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 340 Grand Blvd., Elgin.
