Bernard, Ransom D., MD 1882-1961

BERNARD, DRIPS, CORLETTE, BLACK

Posted By: S. Ferrall - IAGenWeb volunteer
Date: 3/20/2015 at 17:26:16

Ransom Drips Bernard, M.D., died at hs home in Ames of a heart attack on July 7 at 10:30 a.m.

He was born in Elkader, August 8, 1882, the only child of Henry Harrison Barnard and Madge Drips Barnard. His father was a pioneer insurance underwriter and his maternal grandfather was Captain Thomas Drips, who served in the Mexican War in 1846-48 and was the commanding officer of Company E of the 27th Iowa Volunteer Infantry from 1862 to 1865.

Dr. Bernard was educated in the Elkader public schools and the Wisconsin Preparatory Academy before entering the University of Wisconsin. He was graduated from Wisconsin in 1904, and then attended Rush Medical College in Chicago. After his graduation he spent his internship at the Presbyterian Hospital in Chicago.

He started a general practice of medicine in Clarion, Iowa, in 1909, and except for his absence during World War I, he spent over 40 years as a doctor in that community. He retired April 29, 1950, and spent the next four years as general manager of the Iowa State Medical Society in Des Moines. On January 1, 1954, he moved to Ames.

Dr. Bernard was a member of the legislative committee of the Iowa State Medical Society for eight years, and was president in 1946. He was a member of both the Wright County and the Polk County Medical Societies. From 1935 to 1939 he was president of the Iowa Interprofessional Association. He received the Iowa State Medical Society merit award in 1954 for outstanding work in the fields of legislation, public relations and medical service.

He was a founder of Iowa Medical Service (Blue Shield) and served on its board for years, and he performed similar work for Hospital Service of Iowa, Inc. (Blue Cross).

In the American Medical Association, he was a Fellow, and a member of the Academy of General Practice. For many years he served as a delegate to the A.M.A. He was secretary of the National Conference on Medical Service in 1950, and past president in 1951.

In 1917, he volunteered for military service and was the first doctor from Wright County to be accepted. He served for nearly two years, most of the time as surgeon of a base hospital in France. Upon his return, he was a founder and first president of the American Legion post in Clarion.

He was married on January 6, 1909, to Bernice Corlette of Ames. A daughter, Bernice, was born in 1910. Mrs. Bernard preceded him in death in March, 1958, and his daughter in May, 1961.

Survivors include two grandchildren, Bruce Black, a student at Iowa State University, and Bernice Black, a student at Radcliffe College, Cambridge, Mass., and his son-in-law, H.M. Black, professor and head of the Department of Mecanical Engineering at Iowa State University.

Dr. Bernard was a longtime member of the Masonic Order and of the Congregational Church.

Funeral services were conducted in Ames on July 10 by the Rev George Richter, a former pastor of the Congregational Church at Elkader and Clarion. Cremation followed, and the ashes will be interred in the Elkader cemetery.

~Clayton County Register, Thurs., July 13, 1961
~Elkader Eastside cemetery