Class Bulletin Board

When Judy (Becker) Bryant’s father Sam Becker passed away on November 8th, 2012, the Iowa City Press Citizen ran two stories about Sam in their November 9th, 2012 edition. Judy gave us permission to post both stories to the web site as a tribute to her father’s life.  Here is a link to a page containing the two stories.

Kathy (Schrock) Olin’s mother passed away on the 2nd of October, and Kathy gave us permission to post her mother’s obituary as a tribute to her life.

Dorothy O’Hearn Schrock, 92, died peacefully Tuesday, October 2, 2012 at her home in Iowa City.Dorothy Schrock was born to Frank and Letha Colegrove O’Hearn in Mason City, Iowa on August 4, 1920. She attended Mason City High School and graduated from the University of Iowa in 1942. She was a talented musician, accomplished on the drum, timpani and piano, and was a public school band director in Mechanicsville, Iowa and Iowa City. “Dottie” was married to Christian Schrock in 1943. They established a medical practice In Iowa City in 1953 and raised a family of five children. She was a great assistant in her husband’s growing practice.

Dottie was avid about her children’s education and they all achieved professional degrees. She was active in the Women’s Medical Auxiliary, her church, and the PEO Sisterhood. She loved sports and was a passionate spectator, as well as a skilled skier and tennis player. Her hearty laugh and smile will be remembered and missed by all.

Dorothy Schrock is survived by her five children and their families: C. Gerald and Mary Schrock of Minneapolis, MN; Steven and Sara (Schrock) Dallman of Denver, CO; C. Daniel and Mishell Schrock of Providence, RI; Paul S. and Kathryn (Schrock) Olin of Golden Valley, MN; and Larry and Margaret (Schrock) Nelson of West Des Moines, IA; twelve grandchildren; seven great grandchildren; and her sister, Lauretta Hayes of Elyria, OH.

A Celebration of Life service was held on Sunday, October 6, at Zion Lutheran Church, 310 N. Johnson, Iowa City, at 1 pm. A reception and brunch followed at the University Club, 1360 Melrose Avenue, Iowa City.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, 3580 E.P. Parkway, Suite 101, W. Des Moines, IA 50265, or Mercy Hospital Foundation, 500 East Market Street, Iowa City, IA 52245.

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Nat’s father passed away on the 3rd of October, and Nat gave us permission to post his father’s obituary as a tribute to his life.

Dr. Robert T. Soper, 87, of Iowa City, died Wednesday, October 3, 2012, at the Oaknoll Retirement Residence, surrounded by his loving family following a brief illness.

Memorial services are planned in his honor for 4:00 p.m. Saturday, October 27, 2012, at Trinity Episcopal Church in Iowa City. In lieu of flowers memorial donations can be made in Dr. Soper’s memory to the Oaknoll Foundation. Online condolences may be sent for his family through the web @ www.gayandciha.com.

Dr. Soper was a prominent pediatric surgeon at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine for almost four decades and had served as an Emeritus Professor since his retirement in 1995. Robert, or ‘Bob’, is survived by his wife, Helene Jolas, as well as 6 children, 14 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Dr. Soper was born at the University of Iowa hospital and grew up in Emmetsburg, Iowa. He served in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific theater of World War II and was proud to have been on a destroyer that participated in the Tokyo Bay ceremony ending the war. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa where he met his future wife, the daughter of a Cornell College Professor of Music. Drawn to a calling in medicine, he attended the University of Iowa College of Medicine and then trained in Cleveland and Mason City before returning to Iowa for a general surgery residency. He then took his fledgling family to Liverpool, England where he performed a one-year fellowship in pediatric (children’s) surgery, a new specialty that was just emerging. Dr. Soper returned to Iowa City to join the faculty at the University of Iowa. He rose through the professorial ranks and ultimately served as the interim Chair of the Department of Surgery from 1992-1995. Dr. Soper was the first, and only, surgeon to specialize in pediatric surgery in the state of Iowa for many years, treating thousands of children during his long and productive tenure at the university.

Dr. Soper had a very distinguished academic career. He was the editor of 7 textbooks of surgery and more than 200 scientific articles. He was invited to give lectures throughout the world on various topics in pediatric surgery and demonstrated operations in several foreign countries. He also performed missionary work in the Congo and on a Navajo reservation.

Dr. Soper was a mentor to many medical students and surgical residents. He was instrumental in training hundreds of surgeons who carried his passion for surgery to all corners of the state of Iowa and across the United States. Dr. Soper received the prestigious Ernest Theilen Clinical Teaching and Service Award from the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine in 1996 and the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2006. In 1998 the Robert T. and Helene J. Soper Chair of Surgery was established, the first endowed chair within the Department of Surgery.

Dr. Soper had a positive influence on many people and was revered by all who came in contact with him as an honest, dedicated, and humble individual. He took care of his patients passionately and treated those around himself with respect and dignity. Bob also cared deeply about his family and managed to carve out time from his incredibly busy profession to be involved in the lives of those he loved. He and his wife of 61 years created an atmosphere of love and inclusiveness with a passion for music, the arts and science in their household. Their loving partnership touched many lives beyond their nuclear family.

Although he will be missed by all those who love him, his legacy will remain vibrant and his spirit lives on in our hearts and minds.

Janet’s father passed away on the 9th of September, and Janet gave us permission to post her father’s obituary as a tribute to his life.

Name: Richard “Dick” A. Pate
Date of Death: Sep 9, 2012
Location of Service: Peterseim Funeral Home – Kalona

A celebration of life for Richard A. Pate, 87 of Kalona was held Wednesday, September 12, 2012 at 11:00AM at the Peterseim Funeral Home in Kalona with Pastor Jerry Stevenson officiating. A time of food and fellowship followed at the Kalona United Methodist Church in Kalona. The body has been cremated. A memorial fund has been established for the Pleasantview Home or Iowa City Hospice. Richard Pate died Sunday, September 09, 2012 at the Pleasantview Home in Kalona following a decline in health.

Richard Albright Pate was born December 19, 1924 in Iowa City, Iowa the son of Richard Manly and Della (Albright) Pate. He graduated from Iowa City High School in 1943. In August of 1944 he enlisted in the United States Army and served his country during World War II in Italy and the Philippines. On May 7, 1947 he was united in marriage to Ruth Katzenmeyer at the Little Brown Church in Nashua, Iowa. Richard farmed in the Iowa City area his entire life and was a member of the Welsh Church. He was also a charter member of the Iowa City Camel Wheels (1971), Iowa Cattleman’s Association (1973), a 50 year member of Sharon Center Fellowship Lodge #549, KAABA Shrine, Scottish Rite Consistory in Davenport, Lone Tree American Legion and a past president of the Welsh Pioneer Cemetery Association. Richard enjoyed traveling and farming.

Survivors include his wife Ruth of Iowa City, two children, David and wife Christine Pate of Iowa City, Iowa, Janet Barber and friend Dale Schoen of Overland Park, Kansas, three grandchildren, Chad and wife Shauna Pate, Elizabeth Pate and John Barber and one great-granddaughter, Ella Isabelle Pate, and a sister-in-law, Shirley Pate of Iowa City, Iowa.

Preceding Richard in death were his parents and one brother, Robert Pate.