Category: Family News

John R. McLure, 56, of Iowa City, passed away Wednesday, September 20th at the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics surrounded by family.

A memorial service to celebrate John’s Life will be held September 26th, 2017 at 7:00 pm at North Liberty First United Methodist Church. Visitation to greet family and friends will be at 5:00 pm at the church prior to the service. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be directed toward the John R. McLure Memorial Fund.

John R. McLure was born March 31st, 1961 in Urbana, IL, the son of John William and Francis Gail (Thomas) McLure. He was a graduate of Iowa City West High School class of ’79. John attended the University of Iowa, taking a two-year break to go to Raleigh, North Carolina to work and study at NC State, then back to Iowa to get his BS in Elementary Education.

John was a Renaissance man who could, no matter the task, job, or problem, could figure out solutions. His glowing qualities of patience, intelligence and kindness were invaluable to those around him, but most especially his family.

On July 1st,1995 he was united in marriage to Kristine Lee Gerlits. Two years later they had their son, John Dorsey ‘JD’ McLure.

John was active in the city of University Heights as their videographer for 5 1/2 years, until his health started to decline. He was also an excellent guitarist who specialized in campfire songs, and had a great love for Bluegrass music. He played at many nursing homes in the area and he also lead music at the Lighthouse youth program in previous years at St Andrew Presbyterian Church.

John is survived by his wife, Kris; his son J.D. McLure of University Heights; his mother, Gail T. McLure of Iowa City; his brother David P. (Karin) McLure of Shrewsbury, MA; his nephews, Matt McLure (Christine Hosey) of Cambridge, MA and Henry (Minah) Gerlits of South Korea; his nieces Amanda McLure of Boston, MA and Bessie Struck of Sudbury, MA; his mother-in-law Janice Gerlits of Iowa City; and his brother-in-law Dave (Bobbi) Gerlits of Suffield, CT.

He was preceded in death by his father, John William McLure and father-in-law, D.W. “Bill” Gerlits.

Brenda (Schrock) Bradley let us know that Betsy (Elliott) Stough’s brother Bobby passed away recently. Betsy has given us permission to post his obituary as a tribute to his life. Please remember Betsy and her family in whatever way is right for you.

Robert Joseph Elliott, loving son, husband, father, brother, grandfather and friend, died peacefully surrounded by his family Saturday, July 8, 2017 in Iowa City. He was born May 6, 1953 in Iowa City, Iowa to Chalmers “Bump” and the late Barbara Elliott.

Bob grew up in Iowa City and Ann Arbor, Michigan, graduating from Iowa City West High School and the University of Iowa in 1976. At Iowa, Bob was twice named a football Academic All-American, was Phi Beta Kappa and a Rhodes Scholar candidate his senior year. He was named a National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete and a finalist for the Draddy Award as the nation’s best player-student. In 1975, Bob was Iowa’s Big Ten Medal of Honor recipient and awarded the Hancher Finkbine Medallion for Campus Leadership. Most importantly, Bob met the love of his life, Karen Jo (“Joey”) Grant at Iowa. Bob and Joey were married June 19, 1976 and enjoyed 41 wonderful years together.

Bob was a leader in the national Kidney Foundation and Donate Life America bringing awareness and helping raise thousands of dollars, especially through Team Scoop and Score.

Bob devoted his life to serving as a mentor and coach to countless student-athletes. In his over 40-year career, he was committed to excellence and integrity, sought to bring out the best in everyone, and instilled a sense of hope to all he touched. He was a champion and warrior who was steadfast, dedicated and selfless. His memory lives on through the men and women who loved him throughout his great life. He finished his championship season Undefeated and Unbroken.

Bob’s pride and joy were his wife, children, grandchildren and family. He is survived by his devoted wife, Joey; son, Grant (Jessica); daughter, Jessica (Kyle); his magnificent grandchildren, Levi, Robin, Gideon, Elizabeth, Alice and Elijah; father, Bump; brother, William (Janice); sister, and kidney donor, Elizabeth (John); sisters-in-law, Jeri, Carol (Dennis), Nancy (Ron); nieces, Melissa (Matt), Jill (Steve), Erin, Jaycie, Madeline; nephews, Tom (Erika), Jeff (Tiffany), Sam (Nina), Jeffrey (Sarah), John (Stephanie) and Michael (Kady) and the many extended family, friends and football sons. .

The family would like to thank the wonderful doctors and nurses whose dedication allowed him to pursue a career that he loved, positively influence young people, and enjoy a full life with his cherished family. We would like to especially acknowledge the care that the family received from The Bird House Hospice Home of Johnson County.

Services celebrating Bob’s life will be held at 10 am Saturday, July 15, 2017, at Hancher Auditorium in Iowa City (doors will open to the public at 9:15am). A time of fellowship and light refreshments will be held following these services at Hancher. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to The Porter SELF Foundation at sbpselffoundation.org. Also, please consider donating blood at RedCrossBlood.org or registering to donate organs and tissue at BeTheMatch.org or DonateLife.net. For an opportunity to share a thought, memory, prayer or condolence please go to the funeral home website at www.gayandciha.com.

Debbie Dee let us know that Tom Huber’s mother. Rita passed away recently. Tom has given us permission to post her obituary as a tribute to her life. Please remember Tom and his family in whatever way is right for you.

Rita Huber Erbe, 93, of North Liberty, died Saturday, May 27, 2017, at the Bird House, Hospice Home of Johnson County, Iowa City, surrounded by her family. A gathering and celebration of Rita’s life will be from 5 to 8 p.m. June 28 at the Kirkwood Room in Iowa City. A private family burial will be at St. Joseph Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Mercy Hospital Foundation, the Mercy Hospice Unit or the Bird House in Iowa City.

Rita was born Aug. 17, 1923, in Cresco, Iowa, the daughter of Patrick and Eva O’Brien. She graduated from Lawler High School. She married Donald Huber on Aug. 18, 1941. They had three sons together, Terry, Tim and Tom Huber. Don died in 1968. She married Fred Erbe on July 23, 1976 in Iowa City.

Rita loved big band music and enjoyed playing the piano while entertaining friends, dental students and family throughout the years. She was a member of St. Mary’s Church.

Survivors include her husband, Fred; and her sons, Terry and his wife, Diane, of Alexandria, Va., Tim and his wife, Barb, of Fruit Port, Mich., and Tom and his wife, Anna, of Barrington, Ill. She also is survived by five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her first husband, Donald Huber; and her brother, Joseph O’Brien.

The family would like to thank the Bird House and its staff of caregivers for the wonderful care and love provided in Rita’s final days.
Online condolences may be left for the family at www.lensingfuneral.com.

For Henry and Minah Gerlits!

Bonnie (Tappan) Weldon let us know that Karl Moscrip’s father Bud Moscrip passed away recently. Karl Moscrip has given us permission to post his obituary as a tribute to his life. Please remember Karl and his family in whatever way is right for you.

Walter Dale “Bud” Moscrip, 88, of Cedar Rapids, died Monday, March 6, 2017, at St. Luke’s Hospital, Cedar Rapids. Services: 11 a.m. Friday, March 10, at St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church, Cedar Rapids. Visitation and Trisagion Service: 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, March 9, Murdoch-Linwood Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Cedar Rapids. Trisagion service: 7 p.m. Thursday with Father Peter Andronache.

Bud was born Jan. 22, 1929, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the son of Walter and Margret (Knoebel) Moscrip. At the age of 10, he started working at his father’s bicycle shop, Hall’s Bicycle. Bud graduated from Wilson High School in 1946. He joined the Army in 1947 and served during the Korean conflict. Bud returned home and served in the National Guard. In 1950, he was called again to active duty with the 3657 Ordinance Co. to Fort Rucker and then Germany.

In 1952, he returned home to work at the bicycle shop until 1961, when he bought the business from his father. Shortly thereafter, he hired Ronnie Christian and they worked together until Bud’s retirement in 1993.

He married Mary Panagos in Cedar Rapids on Jan. 7, 1983. Bud had a love for bicycling and collecting vintage bikes. In 1994 and 1996, he rode from San Diego, Calif., to St. Augustine, Fla. He also enjoyed traveling, especially to their home in Merida, Mexico. Walter touched the lives of many people with his stories and generosity. Walter never met a person who didn’t ultimately become his friend.
Bud is survived by his wife, Mary; children, Karl (Kathy) Moscrip and Kim Moscrip, and their mother, Kathrin; daughters, Diann (Father Constantine) Terss and Aleka (Mitch) Turner; grandchildren, Kate, Kyle, Antonio, Maria, Kassiani, Amber and Jacob; and great-granddaughter, Taylor.
He was preceded in death by his parents; an infant sister, Barbara; and son, Walter.
Please share a memory of Bud at www.murdochfuneralhome.com under obituaries.

Alan Thomas, Tim Thomas’s Dad, wrote me last Sunday to tell us that Betty Thomas, his wife and Tim’s Mom, passed away early that morning.  Alan and Tim gave us permission to post her obituary as a tribute to her life.

Betty J. Thomas, 81

Betty Joyce Rarick was born Dec. 20, 1935, to Jess L. and Violet Reese Rarich in Iowa City. She attended the local schools and was a graduate of City High and the University of Iowa.

She was married to Allen Thomas on Sept. 5, 1954 at Danforth Chapel on the UI campus.

They have three children, Tim (Maggie), Brian and Anne. Betty was a longtime member of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Iowa City.

Her husband and children survive her, as does a sister, Gloria Ihrig, and a brother, Kenneth Rarick, and several cousins and nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. March 25 at the Sanctuary Church, 2205 E. Grantview Drive, Coralville, Iowa.

Gifts in her honor may be made to the Iowa City Animal Shelter.

Don Rinehart wrote (17 January 2017)

Dave, once again thank you for all you do in keeping this website going and updated. Great new look!
Just an update from the July posting regarding my cross country runners at Embry Riddle University. Great first season for the old coach! Our men’s and women’s teams both won our conference championship in Fresno, California and then went to the NAIA Nationals in St Louis in November. The men finished 20th and the women 27th in the nation with over 100 colleges and small universities competing. We also had our first All American in a young man that is only a sophomore.

I am just the assistant coach, but it was still thrilling to see our kids do so well against some of the best runners in the country! Mt. Mercy University in Cedar Rapids will host the National Meet in 2018…if I am still around, it will be fun to bring the kids to Iowa.

People ask me what is like to coach a bunch of runners that are mostly aerospace engineering majors? I just smile and say, “ Imagine if the characters in the tv show ‘Big Bang Theory’ were a cross country team!” Really smart kids…but also great runners!

Tami (Thompson ’74) and I will be celebrating our 40 year wedding anniversary in May…seems like just yesterday (well maybe longer than that) we were dating at West High! I went back to West in December, to try and recruit a couple of their distance runners. Hadn’t been in the building since the night we graduated – 43 years. Other than a new wing or two, the main building is unchanged…incredible!

Family is well, Tami and I enjoying our new digs in Prescott, Arizona. Several of the people that live in on our street there are retired Hawkeyes! We still have our home in New River (Phoenix) but use it mostly in the winter months. Our granddaughter turns 3 the end of January…she is a sweetie. Moved my mom out of her house and into the Methwick retirement community in Cedar Rapids after Thanksgiving. I wanted to get her a t-shirt that said “I am a Meth-head”, but she didn’t think that was too funny for some reason? She is still going strong at 86 and terrorizing other drivers in Cedar Rapids!

Well, all for now. Plan to be in Iowa City in May to get my mom’s house on the market, maybe will run into some classmates then. Hope everyone has a great 2017!

Don Rinehart

The Bryant family had another year of successes and adventures in 2016.  As usual, most of our news revolves around the boys.

Ben, now in his senior year in high school, is busily applying for colleges and scholarships.  He completed last winter’s wrestling season undefeated and decided to explore other sports this year.  So far, he has founded the high school’s Ultimate Frisbee team and is considering lacrosse or track for the spring.  His marching band season ended a few weeks ago but he will play sousaphone a couple more times for parades and tuba for concerts.  He’s also playing baritone (like a small tuba) with the school orchestra.  This fall, he participated in the county’s Science Bowl (he built two mouse trap-powered cars and also competed on the quiz and trebuchet teams).

Scouting continues to occupy a lot of Ben’s attention.  He backpacked for 10 days at Philmont Scout Ranch in NM for the second time over the summer and has become more involved with Venturing (a co-ed group for older scouts).  He is currently serving as the elected President of Venturing Crew 127.  His work running several National Youth Leadership Training camps and other service to scouting resulted in his being recognized with the Order of the Arrow’s Vigil Honor.  He is also about to receive his 2nd Silver Palm as an Eagle Scout.  Between all this and time with girlfriend Kelly, Ben manages to do very well in school.

Dave and Judy find it hard to believe that Sam is now 20.  We were pleased to see his interest in Masonry when he petitioned for membership in the lodge in Lancaster, PA.  Dave flew up to Pennsylvania in January to be present when Sam was raised as a Master Mason.  Sam’s participation in the Franklin and Marshall men’s Ultimate Frisbee team had a bit of a setback when he was felled by pneumonia just before spring break.  Over the course of spring semester, Sam decided that, as much as he liked F&M and had developed great friendships, it was too intolerant of varying viewpoints.   We discussed his dilemma, and he decided the time was right to transfer to the University of South Florida to continue studying political science for his junior and senior years.  He is living in a dorm-style apartment near campus and has already joined the USF men’s Ultimate Frisbee team and the Judo Club.  Having dedicated himself to healthier eating and fitness, Sam is strong and in great shape.

Sadly, over the summer we had to say goodbye to our lizard Saphira.  Because we adopted her nearly 10 years ago, we don’t know how old she was.  Luckily, Ranger lifts our spirits daily with his friendly personality and general antics.  He relishes the attention and treats he receives from a school crossing guard and two little girls on his morning walk, gets distracted by blowing leaves, loves afternoon frolics in the dog park where he gets to chase and be chased, and looks forward to occasional trips to the dog beach.  But his absolute favorite activity is rolling in any mud puddle he finds.  We have come to appreciate our tile floors even more for the easy clean-ups they afford.  What we did not appreciate was the emergency surgery Ranger needed after a sock he ate became lodged in his intestine.

Relative to all this excitement, Judy and Dave’s lives are pretty predictable.  Judy is in her 36th year teaching in the Psychology Department at USF and is now the senior faculty member in terms of longevity.  This year she stepped down from many years of departmental administration.  Once Ben graduates, she will probably miss her involvement with the high school, especially the Band Boosters.  Dave continues to train police officers (active and retired) on firearms and to conduct polygraph exams for a variety of clients.  Recent cases of note included clearing an accused drug trafficker and catching a child molester attempting to cheat, which will result in him going to prison for the next 5 years.  Dave is active with the local Sons of the American Revolution and still serves as a Boy Scout Unit Commissioner and on the District Eagle Board of Review.

Given everyone’s busy lives, we hardly had time for family trips this year.  Amazingly, we all had the same spring break week so we travelled to Arizona.  We enjoyed visits with Eva, Ruth, and David Vichules.  Sam and Ben took high performance driver training at the Bondurant Racing School.  (They trained with Challengers, Sam’s dream car which he got for his birthday.)  From there we enjoyed the cool weather, great views, and a bit of hiking in the Grand Canyon.  In July, we took an RV trip up to New York to see Dave’s mom before investigating West Point and Yale as potential colleges for Ben.

We wish you all the best for the holidays and coming year and look forward to hearing from you.