The man many knew as Mahoney was involved in many projects, yet made sure he was never singled out as the leader of any of them.

“He was the self-proclaimed background man because he never wanted to be out front,” said Dennis Plautz, retired chief executive officer of the Greater Fort Dodge Growth Alliance. “He wasn’t somebody who wanted to be on a chamber board or a development board, but he always wanted to be involved and keep things working.”

Fort Dodge City Councilman Dave Flattery, who worked with Bocken on revamping the main baseball diamond at Harlan and Hazel Rogers Sports Complex, agreed with that assessment.

“He never sought the spotlight,” Flattery said.

“He really saw that as a project that would bring people to Fort Dodge and he was right,” Flattery said of the baseball diamond job.

Bocken, he said, called him frequently to see if the project was on track.

“He was very task-oriented,” Flattery said.

It is that kind of commitment that will be missing following Bocken’s death on Thursday at age 78 in UnityPoint Health – Trinity Regional Medical Center.

Visitation is scheduled for 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. this Thursday at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, 2501 Sixth Ave. N. His funeral will begin at 10:30 a.m. Friday at the church.

Bocken was a graduate of St. Edmond High School and an Army veteran. He was president of Ackerman Investment Co. in Fort Dodge, which owned five Best Western hotels across Iowa.

Tom Miklo, who as development director for St. Edmond Catholic School worked frequently with Bocken, said that his family was Bocken’s first love, but the second most important thing to him was St. Edmond and the Fort Dodge community.

Miklo said Bocken served on the St. Edmond Development Board and was his “go-to guy.”

He was a “fine, fine guy,” Miklo said.

Fort Dodge Mayor Matt Bemrich recalled how Bocken was able to work with different groups of people to get things done.

“He built bridges, he bonded this group to that group and found ways to build a consensus to achieve something,” Bemrich said.

That skill was part of Bocken’s business aptitude, the mayor said.

“He could just really see the opportunities that other people couldn’t,” Bemrich said. “He just had the aptitude to find those gems.”

Plautz said Bocken worked to create today’s Growth Alliance by combining the Fort Dodge Area Chamber of Commerce and the Development Corporation of Fort Dodge and Webster County. He also worked on the community’s proposal to the Iowa Board of Corrections which resulted in the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility being constructed.

Flattery said Bocken helped to bring the annual girls state softball tournament to Fort Dodge through his friendship with E. Wayne Cooley, former executive secretary of the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union.

Bemrich said Bocken was a supporter of anything related to St. Edmond Catholic School, Holy Trinity Catholic Church and the Marian Home.

But he also showed a true concern for individuals, according to Plautz. He recalled that every time he met with Bocken, he never failed to ask about his family.

“He was just a genuinely nice guy,” Plautz said. “Whenever you needed something, he was there.”

That side of Bocken wasn’t always obvious, his friends admit. He could come across as downright grouchy.

“He might have worn a gruff exterior, but he was a kind and compassionate man,” Bemrich said.

“His bark was much louder than his bite,” Flattery added.

Many people knew Bocken as Mahoney. Sometimes that was the only name they associated with him. But the origins of that nickname remain murky. Both Miklo and Plautz said that he got that nickname as a boy, but they did not know exactly how that happened.