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Arthur "Blackie" Hubbard

February 9, 1921 - September 22, 2020

Arthur Lowell “Blackie” Hubbard, 99, passed away at home from natural causes on Sept 22, 2020. Per his request he will be cremated, with interment at the Iowa Veteran’s Cemetery at Van Meter, Iowa, at a later date, and there will be no formal services or visitation.

Blackie was born in Almartha, MO., on February 9, 1921. He was the fourth of eight children born to Chester and Mary (Weiss) Hubbard. Blackie left school in Sherrard, IL, in the eighth grade. He spent his pre-teen years helping in his father’s blacksmith shop. At the age of 16 he began a long career with the John Deere Company both in East Moline, IL, and Des Moines, IA. He served in the US Navy in WWII aboard the USS Lexington aircraft carrier. He went aboard the Lexington as a plank owner when the ship was commissioned in 1943 in Boston. Following his service in the Navy he returned to John Deere, where he was recognized for his over 70 patents on cotton harvesting equipment. He was awarded the Leonardo De Vinci Award for Design by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He was also inducted into the Iowa Inventor’s Hall of Fame, and he introduced the first mechanical cotton pickers to Brazil. In 1977 he was among a delegation of Deere & Co. officials that traveled to the Soviet Union (USSR) for a symposium on cotton growing and harvesting.

After retiring from John Deere in 1980, he enjoying cooking, traveling, camping with friends, and spending 14 winters in Bandera, Texas.

Blackie is survived by his wife, Alice; two sons, Gary (Selah) of Columbus, GA., and Bruce of Ankeny; brother, Lisle (Carol) Hubbard of Rock Island, IL; grandchildren, Karen Woods Cottrill, Doug Woods, Laura Woods Mosley, Cristopher Hubbard, Chris Hubbard, Kelly Hubbard Avila, P.J. Dauterive; great-grandchildren, Andrew Cottrill, Sela Cottrill, Kate Woods Bartlett, Zach Woods, Preston Woods, Mandi Mosley Farmer, Kari Kinser, Max Avila, and Caleb Dauterive; great-great-grandchildren, Frances Bartlett, Hilly Bartlett, Brinley Farmer, Drew Farmer, Oscar Oswald Woods, and Wells Oswald Woods.

He is preceded in death by his son, Brian in 2005.

The family will be forwarding any memorials to the USS Lexington Museum On The Bay and the USS Lexington CV-16 Association Scholarship fund.