David A. Locher, 1923-2010

LOCHER, HALSTEAD, CALLAHAN, DIENER, JANISSE, STROUP

Posted By: cheryl moonen (email)
Date: 2/25/2015 at 22:00:46

From the April 4, 2010 edition of the Dubuque Telegraph Herald

FARLEY, Iowa -- David A. Locher, 86, of Farley, formerly of Dubuque, died at 8:10 p.m. Tuesday, March 23, 2010, at Shady Rest Care Center, Cascade.

Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, April 8, at St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Farley, Iowa, with Rev. Dennis Cain officiating. Burial will be in St. Joseph's Cemetery, Farley. Friends may call from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, April 7, at Reiff Funeral Home, Farley, where there will be a wake service at 7 p.m.

He was born on June 17, 1923, in Dubuque, son of Harry H. and Laraine (Callahan) Locher. David graduated from the Loras Academy High School in 1942, and later attended St. Mary's Seminary in St. Paul, Minn. He then studied French, history and English literature at Loras College and received his Bachelor of Arts in 1948. He pursued his post-graduate education at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich., where he received his Master of Science in library science in 1953.

While at the University of Michigan, he was a poetry student of the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and novelist Katherine Anne Porter. Subsequently, a lifelong correspondence and friendship developed and he is mentioned several times throughout her biography as a close friend. During the 1950s and '60s, he worked as a librarian at Loras College in Dubuque, the Scripps Institute of Oceanography in La Jolla, Calif., the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco and the University of San Francisco. During these years, he developed a wide network of friendships among the scientific, literary and performing arts circles, including Jacques Cousteau, the oceanographer, and Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel), the children's author. After returning to Dubuque in 1972, he worked in the advertising and building departments serving multiple roles at Klauer Manufacturing Co. until his retirement in 1987.

David's scholarly hobbies included poetry, stamp collecting and world traveling. His poetry was published over many years in multiple poetry collection books, journals and periodicals, including The New York Times. He had a passion for the opera and the classics. He studied and spoke French and German and took a keen interest in history and the cultures and religions of the world. He traveled in Europe and had an audience at the Vatican. He traveled to Sub-Saharan Africa twice, where he visited Catholic missionaries in Zaire, Zambia and Zimbabwe, and had numerous friends in South Africa. He also traveled throughout Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific.

David's passion for learning and teaching always began at home. He was a thoughtful and passionate man who always valued his relationship with his mother, Mary Laraine (Callahan) Locher Halstead, his family and friends, and he diligently remembered birthdays, anniversaries and holidays. He inspired his nieces and nephews and their subsequent generations by being attentive to their academic interests through his generosity and his gift-giving, which often included scholarly history and scientific books. He was a member of St. Joseph's Parish, Farley.

Surviving are his brother, Phillip Locher, of Farley; numerous nieces and nephews, Rosalie Diener Janisse, of Tennessee, Mary Diener Stroup, of Indiana, Roxanne Locher, of Hawaii, William T. Locher Jr. and Thomas Locher, both of Wisconsin, Harry Locher, of Georgia, Christopher Locher, of Massachusetts, and a special niece, Leah Diener, of Dubuque; and special cousins, Catherine Curphy, of Cascade, and Marilyn Callis, of Illinois.

He was preceded in death by his parents; a sister, Mary Laraine Diener, in 1971; and a brother, William T. Locher, in 1984.