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Rolfe’s Doc Ranney Pitches for Armstrong — in 1932

April 5, 2012

Pictured* are Dr. R.B. Ranney and his assistant, Erma (Hopkins) Lund. Dr. Ranney retired from his Rolfe, Iowa, dental practice in 1978. In 1986 he passed away at the age of 72. (Click on photo to enlarge; twice for further enlargement.)

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Today, Major League Baseball’s 2012 opening day, I’m posting about Dr. Ranney (back row, far left in photo below). He was a high school pitcher playing for the 1932 Armstrong, Iowa, high school baseball championship team. He later became the dentist in my hometown of Rolfe, Iowa. Pictured above is Dr. Ranney with Erma (Hopkins) Lund. Off-and-on from approximately 1967 to 1978, Erma was Dr. Ranney’s assistant.

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The caption to this 1932 photo** reads, "Here is the crack Armstrong High school baseball team which climaxed a great season by winning the state prep championship. The members are, back row, left to right: Ranney, E. Lorig, B. Lorig, Erickson, Gagestad, Olson, Coach Estel Thompson. Bottom row, left to right: Horswell, Fitzgibbons, Gaarde, Wilson, Ankrum, Nicoson." (The player with the last name of Nicoson was Mac Nicoson. He was the catcher on the team. He was also a brother to long-time Rolfe resident Sam Nicoson who married Geraldine, "Gerry." Mrs. Nicoson was my first grade teacher.) (Click on photo to enlarge.)

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In 1976 my dad, Deane Gunderson, wrote in his weekly “Bubbles in the Wine” column about Dr. Ranney.

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“Ranney Pitches”

Bubbles in the Wine (column) in the Rolfe Arrow

by Deane Gunderson

First published 36 years ago…May 13, 1976

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Dr. T.D. Jones, 1934.*** (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Dr. R.B. Ranney is one of Rolfe’s best liked citizens and a very highly regarded professional. Russ graduated from dental school and came to Rolfe in 1940. I had looked in the old files of the Arrow for some account of his coming, but didn’t find any. Doc said he rather “snuck” in. That must have been the case. It’s understandable, in a way, because when he first came he worked on a commission basis for Dr. T.D. Jones who was in failing health. Three years later when Ranney bought Jones out, the local residents probably weren’t aware of much of a change. Who cared as long as the dental work was that good?

Doc and Maureen, who are two of our most solid citizens, reared a family of two boys while in Rolfe. They don’t brag much.

But did you know that Doc was the winning pitcher in the 1932 Iowa High School Baseball tournament, pitching hometown Armstrong to the state title with the school’s 23rd consecutive win? That little guy? (120 lbs. then) And who was the victim? North High of Des Moines, the 1931 state champs!

The intensity of the feeling in Armstrong must have begun to build up about May 12, 1932, when the Armstrong Journal headlined, “Baseball Team Will Enter State Tourney,” and continuing, “The Armstrong High School baseball team left this afternoon for the state tournament in Des Moines, having wiped the slate clean at the Spencer tournament last Saturday and Monday.

“They met the Spencer team in the first round and eliminated them 9 to 0. Monday morning they defeated Sanborn 8 to 1, and in the afternoon, played in the finals against Arnold’s Park, winning 6 to 1.

“Ranney pitched the first and last games.”

A week later the town must have been bustling with pride and excitement. Again from the Journal:

“Armstrong High School baseball team came home Saturday night with the State Championship, after having won three straight games in the tournament at Des Moines in Western League Baseball park. A crowd was waiting [for] them near the midnight hour at the Junction and formed a parade, marching up through Main Street led by the high school band. A tired and happy bunch of boys and Coach Thompson piled out of cars to play the game over among the fans who for two days had paced up and down main street anxiously waiting for a telephone call from Des Moines announcing the result of each game.

“Armstrong played their first game Friday afternoon against Moulton and defeated them 6 to 1. Ranney let the Moulton team down with three hits, while Armstrong batters hit 10 safe singles.

“Saturday morning Hamburg was the next to fall, 8 to 2. Horswell allowed five scattered hits, and Armstrong hit safely eight times.

The final game was played against North High, Des Moines, last year’s champions. This team was rated strong, especially their crack pitcher, Jim Iles, who had been played up in news reports. He met his downfall in a slugging match with 14 hits for Armstrong and 13 for North High. Ranney pitched this game and was nicked hard, this making his second full game in two days.

“The Score was tied at 9 in the fifth inning after each team had been ahead by as much as three. It was again tied at 11 in the 6th inning. Ranney allowed but three batters to face him in the seventh inning and Armstrong went to bat in the last half of the inning with a tie score. With one out Wilson walked, Ranney singled, Gaarde was purposely walked and the bases were full. B. Lorig crashed a single through the infield and Armstrong won the tournament.”

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See last year’s opening day post about the Chicago Cubs here.

*From the collection of Erma (Hopkins) Lund.

**From the collection of Richard (Dick) Ranney.

***From the Webb photo collection at the Rolfe Public Library.

(Click here to go to Louise Gunderson Shimon’s blog’s home page.)

Posted in Bubbles In The Wine, Deane Gunderson | 1 Comment »

The Iowa Caucus: 36 Years Ago

January 2, 2012

The following is my dad’s (Deane Gunderson) Bubbles in the Wine column about Iowa caucuses. This article was originally published in the Rolfe [Iowa] Arrow on January 15, 1976, just four days before that year’s caucus.

I’m a conservative and will be voting in Iowa’s Republican caucus tomorrow night, January 3. I am solid with my choice, but (for now, anyway) feel that I’ve designed this blog for topics other than pushing my political beliefs onto others. I’ll save that for my speech at the caucus tomorrow night. (Am I nervous to speak? Yes!) Or for anyone who wants to private-message me. If you are wanting to know for whom I am voting, feel free to email me and I will tell you. MGundersonArt@gmail.com

Contrarily, if you’d like to comment on your thoughts, feel free to do so below. Or, private message me about your thoughts, as well.

For now, here’s my dad’s column.

“Jan. 19 Political Caucuses”

Bubbles in the Wine (column) in the Rolfe Arrow

by Deane Gunderson

First published 36 years ago…January 15, 1976

There have been press releases and official notices of political caucuses, Republican and Democrat, to be held January 19. [Remember, this was written in 1976 and that the 2012 Iowa caucuses will be held tomorrow, Tuesday, January 3.]

A rather unique thing happened this year. The Democrat State Chairman and the Republican State Chairman held a joint news conference and issued a joint news release, “. . . we challenge people to demonstrate their concern for responsible government by attending one of these caucuses.”

It used to be that the Republican and Democrat organizations did a good job of ignoring each other, especially the other’s good points.

The above joint announcement should be taken as a sincere feeling that more participation in political activity is a good thing for the country.

I was surprised to be asked a few days ago if these caucuses were open to anyone, or if they were just for the party committee men and political workers.

Emphatically — the caucuses are open to anyone who wishes to indicate that he or she has the slightest inclination to make his desires known through one of the parties. Obviously, party structure would break down if it were permissible for a bunch of Republicans to attend a Democrat caucus and make decisions — or vise-versa. Likewise, independents without any purpose except to undermine the organizational framework should not be allowed to make decisions.

I’m sure that either party will welcome anyone who shows any indication whatsoever to make his voice heard through that party structure. You do not have to be registered. Just be one who could be eligible to vote November 2 and be a resident of the precinct for the caucus you attend. (See notices in last week’s paper.) [In 2012, you will need a photo ID that includes your current address, for example, your driver's license. If you've moved and your current address is not on your photo ID, you will need some proof of your current address, for example, a utility bill including your address.]

The purposes of the party caucuses, both Republican and Democrat, are to:

1. Name a precinct committeeman and committeewoman who will serve as members of the county central committee for that party.

2. Elect delegates to the county conventions which in turn will elect delegates to the state and district conventions. The state and district conventions will name delegates to the national political conventions, thus naming the candidates for which you will be making a choice for president Nov. 2, 1976.

3. Suggest resolutions and platforms which will be considered at county, district, state and national convention.

While you might consider the impact at the local caucus level to be very small, every idea will have a hearing and be voted on in a democratic way and, if accepted, ushered on up the line to the proper point of application (state, national — or county, for that matter). Be there January 19th. [Or, in 2012, tomorrow, Tuesday, January 3.]

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If you want to know more about this year’s Iowa caucus, click here. And, remember, some elections win or lose by just one vote. Heck, my dad got one vote one time at the county level…and won!

Click here to go to Louise Gunderson Shimon’s blog’s home page.

Posted in Bubbles In The Wine, Deane Gunderson | 11 Comments »

Iowa State’s 1981 Cy’s Favorite Alum (shhhhhh…) Attended the University of Iowa

February 27, 2011

Click on résumé to magnify detail.

In a previous post I included my father’s (Deane Gunderson) 1940 résumé. Under his sub-heading of education, my father included that he had attended one summer session/program at the University of Iowa. This newspaper article (below) tells about that session specifically geared toward high school seniors and the study of physics. By putting a few clues together, I believe this June 13, 1935, article is from a Rolfe Arrow.

Other than this particular summer session, my father’s collegiate studies were at Iowa State College. From there he received two engineering degrees: a B.S. in Agricultural Engineering in 1939, and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 1940.

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(Click here to go to Louise Gunderson Shimon’s blog’s home page.)

Posted in Deane Gunderson | 1 Comment »

Population Trends for Pocahontas County and Rolfe, Iowa

February 24, 2011

In case you didn’t see it already, DesMoinesRegister.com published an interactive map indicating the population changes for each Iowa county  as indicated by the 2010 census. Of all 99 Iowa counties, Pocahontas County had the biggest percentage drop — minus 15.6% — in population. Rolfe, Iowa, my hometown, is in Pocahontas County.

In my dad’s 1976 Bubbles in the Wine column (below) about population trends, he referred to Pat Wood. Since Pat was a former mayor of Rolfe and longtime businessman there, I thought it would be fun to include a couple of photos of him. Pat passed away in 1987.

This photo of Pat was taken in 1976 by, I assume, my mother (Marion Gunderson). During that year of our nation's bicentennial, my mother photographed nearly every Rolfe community member. All of those photos are in albums at the Rolfe Public Library. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

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POPULATION TRENDS

Bubbles in the Wine — A Rolfe [Iowa] Arrow weekly column

September 23, 1976

by Deane Gunderson


Several years ago the Register had an article on the projected population growth of different Iowa areas to the year 2020. The Skunk River valley area — Ames, Newton, etc. — was predicted to have the highest growth (0.45 percent per year). Our area, the Des Moines River valley was predicted to have an increase of 0.35 percent per year. The lowest was southwest Iowa, I believe.

I visited with Mayor [Pat] Wood a few days ago. He told me that whereas the town of Rolfe had an official census of 767 in 1970, the population, according to the count taken in February, 1976, was 838.

That’s a nice gain and it has been gratifying to see a number of your  young people come back to Rolfe as well as others that have moved into town.

Projecting from the figure of 838 at the rate of 0.35 percent per year, we come up with a figure of 976 in the year 2020. Or using the 6 year growth rate from 767 to 838 (and assuming it would continue) we would come to a figure of 1359 in the year 2020.

We would like to think that if the town did get to one of those figures it would mean that the Rolfe School would have a substantial gain in enrollment. That will probably not be the case as the percentage of old people is increasing, the young ones decreasing. That is substantiated by there having been a school enrollment drop averaging 8 per year for the last 5 years, the heaviest being the last two years — even with the town population increasing as mentioned. The 1976 census shows only 247 people age 0 to 20. The drop in farm population is no doubt a factor also.

The influx of population to Rolfe seems to be primarily retiring people  and people that are using Rolfe as a bed room town and working elsewhere. The latter is probably the greatest hope that we have to continue to grow some. It seems that we haven’t had much sound interest by anyone in locating an industry here — and apparently the same is true in other towns of our size.

It’s easy for me to understand why there hasn’t been a lot of interest in locating industries in smaller towns and why there probably won’t be in the future. This writer attended a meeting in a larger town outside the county several years ago and listened to the executive director of the Chamber of Commerce tell what all they were doing and offering to find industries that might locate there. The extent and the detail of their research amazed me. My feeling ever since that time is that with all the bird-dogging by the larger towns and cities, there would be very little chance of industries coming to the smaller towns.

This photo of Pat Wood and Tom Diggs is taken from the November 19, 1970, edition of The Rolfe Arrow.

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(Click here to go to Louise Gunderson Shimon’s blog’s home page.)

Posted in Bubbles In The Wine, Deane Gunderson, Iowa, Rolfe | 2 Comments »

O Christmas Tree …

December 24, 2010

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In the above photo the Christmas tree was on the dome of the brick corn crib at Gunderland, the farmstead where I was raised. For several years in the 1970s, Daddy (Deane Gunderson) and Johnny Zeman collaborated to offer holiday spirit emanating from these glowing lights seen across the night-time countryside.

Immediately below is a 1970s video* of their process.

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This movie requires Adobe Flash for playback.

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Mother's (Marion Gunderson) note about this photo says, "Home of Deane and Marion Gunderson near Rolfe, Iowa. Taken about 1969 or 1970 by Jerry Turner --- then funeral director in Rolfe --- Hobby Photography." (Click on photo to enlarge.)

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*The cast of “characters” in the video is:

Daddy is the person at the beginning of the video carrying the tree up the ladder. He’s also the person getting on top of the dome of the crib, and the second person coming out of the top of the crib to climb down the ladder.

Johnny is the person inside the top of the crib while Daddy is carrying the tree up. Johnny is also the first person to climb down the ladder at the end of the video.

Marti (7-year-older sister of mine) is in the yellow coat. Mother is in the red scarf. Mick (Marti’s husband) is in the leather jacket. I’m not sure who the person is in the vicinity of the red barn.

At the end of the video there are a few seconds of footage of my Dad’s “old” (the red one) and “new” (the sheet metal one) work shop. The old one was destroyed in the tornado that passed through in 2004. The new one still stands. Also in the video you’ll see our two dogs coming out of their warm doghouse. My dad made this doghouse by removing a basement window so there would be an opening for the doghouse “door.” Just inside that foundation opening he built a wood and glass doghouse that was at the ceiling level of the basement. Whenever we went down to the basement, we could look up and see Dumpty (my dog that Daddy gave to me when I graduated from eighth grade at D.M.T., hence the name “DuMpTy”) and Happy (Dumpty’s son) and they would wag their tails with excitement as they could see us.

(Click here to go to Louise Gunderson Shimon’s blog’s home page.)

Posted in Deane Gunderson | 3 Comments »

Johnny Zeman: Long on Loyalty, Know-how, and Getting Things Done

December 22, 2010

In this 1961 photo, Johnny prepared the seedbed with John Deere 730 tandem tractors pulling two 14-foot tandem discs and a 30-foot harrow. This configuration was designed by my dad, Deane Gunderson, who in the early 1940s was an engineer for the John Deere Tractor Company in Waterloo, Iowa. The tractors could also be used separately for lighter fieldwork during the summer. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

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Bubbles in the Wine (A Rolfe [Iowa] Arrow weekly column)

March 20, 1975

by Deane Gunderson

Johnny Zeman, long on loyalty, know-how, and getting things done, a 145 pound bundle of tough muscle and porcelain innards. The muscle is just about as good as it was 19 years ago when he started to work at Gunderland, and his know-how and a few other things have improved a good bit in the last few years.

No longer will Johnny be slowly turning Irving Cornwell’s corner at 7:59 a.m. (winter hours) with his six-soother at his side. We’ll miss the convenience to us in the little things as well as his sincere desire to get the crops in and out properly and quickly.

Johnny...and Johnny. (Year unknown. Click on photo to enlarge.)

Johnny had his funny side. One night he was relaxing in the old tavern (now extinct) near the coin laundry. A friend along the bar said he was going up to the (old) Midway to see what was going on there, and friend left. Johnny thought, “I’ll just duck out the back door and slip up to the Midway and be nonchalantly at the bar when friend comes in the front door of the Midway.”  Johnny was scurrying back behind the buildings in pretty good darkness with a smile on his face, no doubt, when he unexpectedly found himself scrambled with sandburs, broken shipping crates, and cinders in the bottom of an abandoned basement drive-in entrance to one of the buildings.

Johnny and Daddy at Gunderland. (Year unknown. Click on photo to enlarge.)

On another occasion, Johnny called up about 9:00 p.m. on a Sunday evening and suggested that he go up to Les Allen’s to pick up some equipment so that we’d be ready to charge into our work more quickly Monday morning. I told Johnny, “No, just let it go — we’ll take care of it in the morning.” Nevertheless, half an hour later, Johnny called from Allen’s to say he had encountered a couple of horses in the middle of the road and his car was over in Martin DeWall’s field. “I’ll come to get you,” I said. We looked for the horses, [but] didn’t find them although we could see where they had been. Later I took Johnny home and by then Johnny was concerned about what discipline he was going to get, because he had outright disobeyed me. “No, Johnny,” I said, “it’s just that at certain times you ought to keep away from that car.” “You mean to say that I’m not going to get laid off, or have my wages docked or anything like that?” Answer: “That’s right.” Whereupon Johnny said, “O.K., then, give me some more ell.”

Once when visiting in California, I was regaling my dentist uncle with some of Johnny’s antics, telling about  how Johnny liked to get to the tavern after work and tell his buddies about how we (or he) did this today, and we did this much this week, etc. My uncle said, “Yep, that’s his fraternity.”

Best regards Johnny, LaVonne and the kids, and fond memories from Gunderland.

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Johnny passed away in 1989.

Click here to read a few more of Daddy’s “Bubbles in the Wine” columns, including his story about how he began his BITW column. I’ll be sure to post more of them in the future. I have his permission, and the Pocahontas Record-Democrat‘s, which now owns the Rolfe newspapers.

If you want to learn more about the John Deere configuration and didn’t already see it when I posted my dad’s obituary, click here for a 1964 Fort Dodge Messenger article about it. The article also includes another photo of Johnny.

Click here to go to Louise Gunderson Shimon’s blog’s home page.

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The Mouser Transition — Part I

October 7, 2010

For the past two or three years, until Daddy (Deane Gunderson) passed away on July 1st, 2010, Mouser had been Daddy’s adopted cat. Bill and I are fortunate (right, Bill???!) to now have Mouser living with us…and Sammy and Miss Kitty.

Until Daddy fell on May 4th of this year, Mouser and Daddy would, together, make a trip to and from the mailbox…every day.

More about Mouser is in this post. Another photo of Daddy and Mouser is in this post.

 

True to his twinkle-eyed personality, it was Daddy's idea to have me take this photo for his 2009 Christmas cards. I didn't think of it until now, that Mouser fits right in with the ISU color scheme: ISU mailbox, ISU logo on Daddy's jacket, ISU bolo tie, and...golden cat. (Photo taken in October or more likely November 2009.)

 

 

April 22, 2010

 

 

April 22, 2010

 

 

April 22, 2010

 

The last three photos don’t do justice to Daddy’s engineering and by-example teaching, intellect, humor, and generosity. But, they are what they are; they illustrate companionship and the bond between Mouser and Daddy.

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For the next week or so, and maybe frequently until mid-November, the posts might be more fluff oriented than informational. I’ve got to get more house painting done, I want to play some, and I’ve got to get organized for the November (11th, 13th, and 14th) open house.

(Click here to go to Louise Shimon’s blog’s home page.)

Posted in Deane Gunderson | 5 Comments »

Balance

September 6, 2010

Please click once (or even twice) on this photo to magnify the detail and "be there."

This photo was taken this past spring on April 17. On that day, (L to R) Joe (Katie’s husband), Katie (Bill’s and my younger daughter) and Bill set out the dock at West Lake Okoboji for the summer season.

The dock was designed and made by my dad (Deane Gunderson) in the mid-1970s. It’s a unique creation. If you’ve already seen it, you know exactly what I mean. If you haven’t seen it…well… sometime I’ll post “the rest of the story.”

If you haven’t already, I hope you’ll click on the photo to enlarge it and to enjoy the balance it portrays…in more ways than one.

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(Click here to go to this blog’s home page.)

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Posted in Deane Gunderson, Iowa, Okoboji | 4 Comments »

Splooshing and Rejoicing

August 2, 2010

Today I was home alone after having a tear-filled and fun-filled weekend with family and friends. We buried my dad’s (Deane Gunderson) ashes at a family service on Friday. On Saturday morning we had a community memorial service followed by unwinding with family and friends at Roger and Dan Allen’s Bud Barn* in Rolfe, Iowa. (Roger and Dan are such salt-of-the-earth very, very special friends of my dad; they were instrumental in helping make it possible for my dad to live on the farm until his first fall in May.)

In-between the two services, on Friday was the unveiling of a 3′ x 3′ granite plaque honoring my dad. (Roger and Dan had the idea of the plaque several months ago. The original plan, before my dad passed away, was that Rog and Dan and my family would surprise my dad with the plaque earlier this month.)**

Also, on Friday evening we had a “tour” of Gunderland (the farmstead where my dad lived) with Bill periodically being tapped as a tour guide. Later that night a bunch of us played the won’t-let-you-be-inhibited-game of Quelf.

So, today being at home by myself was the first opportunity for reality to start setting in. My emotions splooshed all over the place with me missing my dad yet knowing that I’ve always been so fortunate, including, well…just getting to comfortably be with him so much and learn from him. I know the bottom line is…..”This is the day which the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

Here is my dad's 11 1/2-foot-tall statue of Cy located in Rolfe, Iowa. In the foreground are my dad's seven grandchildren. To the left is the 3' x 3' granite plaque that was unveiled this past Friday. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

On my t-shirt is an image of my dad's Cy statue...the same as the statue on the plaque. (Click on photo to enlarge plaque text.)

I’ll get on the ball and post the remainder of my conversation with Sharon (Wickre) Rickard. Over time I’ll certainly have more photos and information about my dad’s and mom’s lives, as well. (Obviously, I’ll post much more about my mom’s watercolors.) For now, here are a couple of photos from Friday’s plaque unveiling. (Oh, and…if you want a fun game, for sure, Quelf is it!)

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In case you missed my dad’s obituary, including links to various articles about him, click here.

*At the Bud Barn site’s home page you’ll hear song lyrics written in 1984 explaining a little about the Bud Barn. The Bud Barn was originally at the farmstead where my dad was born in 1918. The barn was moved into Rolfe in 1982.

**The plaque is there for all to see…up close and “personal.” If you have a chance, I hope you’ll stop by to see it. Even if you are a Hawk fan I think you’ll appreciate my dad’s art of design and welding.

(Click here to go to Louise Shimon’s blog’s home page.)

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Posted in Deane Gunderson | 4 Comments »

Deane C. Gunderson (Obituary, 1964 Fort Dodge Messenger Article, and Links to Additional Articles)

July 21, 2010

Daddy at the age of 88 in 2007. He looked just like this (including the sparkle in his eyes) until within days before he passed away on July 1st, 2010. The only difference from this photo and seeing him in "real life" was he typically had his shirt collar buttoned and was a true blue Iowa Stater wearing his self-handcrafted ISU bolo tie! (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Deane C. Gunderson, age 91, died on Thursday, July 1, 2010, at the Israel Family Hospice House in Ames.

Deane Charles Gunderson, son of John Christian Gunderson and DeElda (Lighter) Gunderson, was born on September 16, 1918, in Roosevelt Township, Pocahontas County, Iowa.  He graduated from Rolfe High School in 1935 and received B.S. degrees in Agricultural Engineering (1939) and Mechanical Engineering (1940) from Iowa State College.

On July 23, 1941, Deane Gunderson and Marion Abbott were married in Ogden, Utah.  They resided in Waterloo, Iowa, for nearly four years while Deane worked as an engineer for the John Deere Tractor Company.  In 1945 Marion and Deane moved with their three young children to the farm southwest of Rolfe where they continued to live for six decades.

Deane was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity, president his senior year and president of the House Corporation for 24 years.  He was active in the Republican Party, Community Chest and Lions Club, and a Life Master in the American Contract Bridge League.

Deane was a member of the Shared Ministry of Rolfe.  He served on the Board of Directors of the Rolfe State Bank.  He was involved in public education for 25 years, having served on the Rolfe Community School District Board of Directors from 1966 to 1981, and as a Director and Treasurer of the Iowa Association of School Boards from 1971-1991.  He also served on the Board of Governors of the Iowa State University Foundation.

In 1980, Iowa State University awarded Alumni Recognition Medals to Deane and Marion.  He was an avid Cyclone fan and in 1975 created an 11½-foot, welded sculpture of Cy that stood at the north end of the ISU football stadium for many years.  In 1981 Iowa State named Deane as Cy’s Favorite Alum.

During 1975-1977, Deane wrote a weekly column, “Bubbles in the Wine,” for The Rolfe Arrow.

His interests included farming, education, mathematics, welding, land surveying and farm drainage systems.  He specialized in creating larger combinations of farm machinery* for increased production per farm worker.  He seemed to have friends wherever he went and enjoyed engaging them with his stories.  He was proud of his children and delighted in his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  He was a generous person, encouraged others in their endeavors and was noted for pointing out life’s wonders, including Sputnik, the Pythagorean theorem, bean seeds germinating, a fox den in a creek bank, and the West Bend Grotto.

Deane was preceded in death by his wife, Marion, his parents, and one son, Christian Gunderson.  He is survived by his son Charles Gunderson and wife Gloria; daughters Clara Hoover and husband Harold, Helen Gunderson, Martha Carlson and husband Michael, Margaret Moore and husband Jeffrey, and Louise Shimon and husband William; seven grandchildren: Christina Gunderson, Timothy Gunderson, Kevin Carlson, Joshua Moore, Jonathan Moore, Abigail Shimon and Kathryn (Shimon) Moon; three great-grandchildren: Michael Williams, Addison Valletta and Jackson Johnstone; and several cousins.

A memorial service will be held at the Shared Ministry of Rolfe at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 31.

In lieu of flowers, Deane requested contributions be made to the Rolfe Lions Club (P.O. Box 101, Rolfe, Iowa 50581).

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*If you have time, I hope you will click TWICE on this photo to read this 1964 Fort Dodge Messenger article about one aspect of my dad's engineering. (With clicking on the photo just once, the text will likely be too small to read. This is posted with permission granted by The Messenger.)

Daddy’s obituary will be in today’s (July 21st) edition of the Pocahontas Record-Democrat. It will also be in this Sunday’s (July 25th) edition of the Fort Dodge Messenger, the Ames Tribune and the Des Moines Register. Sometime later I’ll post a bunch of photos of Daddy; in the same post as his obituary somehow just didn’t seem to work for me.

If you are able to attend Daddy’s service and luncheon afterward, please be sure to let me know you are there. (I felt so bad that I missed some people who were at Mother’s service.) Also, if you can’t attend the service but think you will be in Rolfe later in the day on the 31st or sometime that weekend, it would be nice if you’d email (mariongundersonart@gmail.com) or call me to let me know; maybe we could work out a way to have our paths cross.

I will get the rest of my conversation with Sharon (Wickre) Rickard posted relatively soon (over the next two or three weeks?).

(Click here to go to Louise Shimon’s blog’s home page.)

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Posted in Bubbles In The Wine, Deane Gunderson, Iowa, John Deere, Marion Gunderson, Rolfe | 6 Comments »

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