Obituary of King Herr

King George Herr, age 97 formerly of 3083 Prairie du Chien Road, NE, Iowa City died Wednesday, March 9, 2005, at the Crestview Care Center in West Branch. Funeral services will be held at 3:00 p.m., Sunday, March 13, 2005, at Zion Lutheran Church, 320 N. Johnson Street, in Iowa City with the Reverend Tim Malek officiating. Visitation will be from 4 to 7pm Saturday at Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service, 2720 Muscatine Avenue, in Iowa City, and after 2pm at the church on Sunday. Graveside services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Monday, March 14, 2005, at the Linwood Cemetery. 2735 Winson Avenue, in Dubuque. A resident of Dubuque from 1930-1989, he will be buried beside Julia Marie Hansen Herr, his first wife, and mother of his three children. In leiu of flowers, memorial donations may be given to the Dubuque YMCA c/o King Herr Memorial Fund to assist in scholarships for boys and girls. Online condolences may be sent for King’s family through our website @ www.gayandciha.com. Mr. Herr was born on September 6, 1907, in Cedar County, Iowa, son of Herbert and Catharine (King) Herr. Raised on Champion Hill Farm, he graduated from Wilton High School in 1924 and for two years worked at the Farmers Savings Bank in Wilton before attending the University of Iowa, from which in 1930 he graduated in Commerce. Mr. Herr was associated with Interstate Finance Corporation from 1930 to 1967 and with the American Trust & Savings Bank from 1967 until his retirement in 1988. For more than 50 years he was a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Dubuque. Mr. Herr was active in many civic organizations. A member of the Rotary Club for 68 years, he was District Governor of Rotary International from 1977-79. In1975 he helped start the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) Chapter in Dubuque and joined the Iowa City chapter when he moved there in 1989. He served on the National Board of SCORE from 1984 to 1988 and was the National Director of Rural Community Development from 1988 to 1994. King Herr’s service to the Dubuque Community spanned nearly six decades. During that period he was renowned for his abilities as a volunteer fundraiser for civic projects, including Bethany Home, the YMCA-YWCA, Westminster Church and the Salvation Army. While he enjoyed both gardening and hunting, his primary hobby was photography. A long-time member of a camera club, Mr. Herr often provided photographs, especially of historic landmarks, for community publications. King Herr married Julia Marie Hansen on May 30, 1936. The couple enjoyed 34 years of married life and community leadership until Julia’s untimely death in a car accident on April 19, 1970. Mr. Herr married Marion Carlson Miller on December 28, 1971; they were divorced in 1984. On May 26, 1989, he married Margaret Schrock Alton of Iowa City. Due to their mutual devotion and the support of friends and family, they were able to remain in their own home until May of 2004. His family includes his wife, Margaret Alton-Herr, of Melrose Meadows, Iowa City; two daughters, Catharine Marie (and David) Van Nostrand of St. Cloud, Minnesota, and Johanna Susan (and Charles) Engberg of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; one son, John Christian (and Mary Jo Herriman) Herr, of Charlottesville, Virginia; seven grandchildren, Laura Susan Caviani, Catharine Louise Van Nostrand, Maren Thyra Van Nostrand {and Byron Ricks}, Siri Johanna Engberg (and Martin Broan), Gillian Louisa Engberg, Christian Craig Herr, and Austin King Herr; and three great-grandchildren, Julia Frances Ricks, Simon Lockyer Broan and Eliza Louise Broan; step-children, David Alton (and Ann) of Coralville, and Carol Kefalas of Chevy Chase, MD, step-grandchildren, Paris Kefalas, Todd Alton, and Scott Kimball. Gay & Ciha Funeral and Creamtion Service of Iowa City is caring for King’s family and his services.