On July 28, 2025, Dr. Edward Henry Obrock, a well-known and reputable general dentist from Quincy, passed away in Gallatin, Sumner County, Tennessee, at the age of 95.
The son of Clarence C. and Minnie A. Wortman Obrock, Dr. Obrock was born in Quincy on December 26, 1929. On August 28, 1954, he wed Leola Lee G. Schmidt at Chicago’s Hope Epiphany Lutheran Church. Lee passed away on September 28, 2018, after 64 years of marriage.
Dr. Obrock completed his education at the University of Illinois Chicago Medical Center, College of Dentistry, Quincy College, and Gem City Business College.
After earning his professional degree in 1955, he joined the US Air Force and went to Maxwell-Gunter AFB in Montgomery, Alabama, to finish basic training. At Davis-Monthan U.S. Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona, Captain Obrock was assigned to the 4161st USAF Hospital, Strategic Air Command. After serving in the military, he started a civilian practice in Quincy by buying Dr. Warren King’s office, which was situated on the second story of the Kresge building on the intersection of 6th and Maine. He relocated to the new office building at 8th & Ohio after eight years. After 26 years of caring for numerous families in the neighborhood, he joined his son, Dr. Paul Obrock, in 1983 at 8th & Kentucky, where he continued to practice until his retirement in 1995, marking the end of a 40-year career filled with distinction.
According to modern health care norms, his official professional training took place in a bygone age. He never stopped learning new science, though, as well as new ways to deliver great patient care. In addition to being a leader in the workplace, he was also a superb mentor and an unmatched example of a professional and a family man.
Lee and Ed had attended Luther Memorial Church for a long time. He served as a council leader and charter member of Luther Memorial’s mission church, Christ Lutheran, in the 1960s. Ed has been a member of Quincy Consistory, Bodley Lodge, and A.F. & A.M. for 70 years. In addition, he belonged to the Order of the Eastern Star’s Alpha Chapter and the Quincy Masonic High Twelve.
Ed was a member of the Quincy Sister City Commission and the Board of Directors of the American Red Cross’s Adams County Chapter. Having hosted many German visitors and taken part in two excursions to Herford in 1984 and 1989, Ed and Lee were active participants in the Sister City exchanges with Herford, Germany. Ed’s parents were both from Herford and the nearby villages, just like many other people in Quincy.
Dr. Obrock was a Life Member of the Illinois State Dental Society and the American Dental Association. For more than two decades, he was the secretary-treasurer and president of the T.L. Gilmer Dental Society, which was composed of five counties in western Illinois. As the local dental society’s president in the 1960s, Dr. Obrock played a key role in coordinating efforts with Quincy’s public health officials to maximize public water fluoridation. This program significantly improved the community’s public health, reduced the number of sick days taken by schoolchildren, and significantly lowered healthcare costs for families. He actively volunteered at the Illinois Veteran’s Home, Blessing Hospital, and the Give Kids a Smile initiative after retiring.
He was nominated by his peers for the Illinois State Dental Society Distinguished Member Award in 1985 for his professional, religious, cultural, and civic accomplishments.
Ed was the first chair clarinetist in the Quincy High School Band, which was led by Paul Morrison, and he loved both performing and listening to music. He performed with the Quincy Park Band and Quincy Community Band for many years. Ed also played tenor drum for the Sons of the Legion Drum and Bugle Corps. The corps, which was supported by Quincy’s American Legion Post 37, took home two national titles—in Miami and San Francisco—as well as six state titles and six state fair titles.
on October 2012, he flew on Honor Flight #16 as a veteran of the Korean War. He was a fervent Chicago Cubs supporter and has a certificate stating that he was a Die-Hard Cub Fan since 1943.
Ed and Lee spent many years playing tennis, playing golf, fishing in fresh and salt water, and traveling both domestically and abroad. They have been to most U.S. states and four continents.
His son, Dr. Paul Obrock (Ellen) of Tennessee, and his two grandchildren, Evan Obrock (Paige) of Indianapolis, Indiana, and Eric Obrock (Shay) of The Woodlands, Texas, survive him. In addition, he has five great-grandchildren: Emmett, Henrik, and Alice from Indiana; Cole and Bren from Texas.
Visitation: No visitation is scheduled.
Services: At a later time, there will be a private service with Masonic rites and a military honors burial.
Greenmount Cemetery will be the place of burial.
Donations can be sent to the Quincy Humane Society, the Quincy Honor Flight program, or the Quincy High School music department. You can make an online donation to the memorial at https://memorials.hansenspear.com/.
Hansenspear.com
The arrangements are handled by Hansen-Spear Funeral Directors.
