Darwin ‘ Dean’ Cartwright, 12 Sept 1931 – 24 Oct 2012

CARTWRIGHT, ARBUCKLE, CHADWICK, FLUGUM

Posted By: Sandy Ficken (email)
Date: 10/29/2012 at 15:05:36

Darwin ‘ Dean Cartwright

North English, Iowa

Darwin “Dean” Cartwright, age 81, died Wednesday, October 24 at Iowa City Hospice in Iowa City.

Dean was born in Villisca, Iowa on September 12, 1931 to Paul and Vera (Arbuckle) Cartwright. He graduated in 1950 from Osceola High School in Osceola, Iowa.

In July of 1951 he joined the Navy and attended the U.S. Naval School for training in electronics and communications. He served as a Communications Technician during the Korean War, stationed on Oahu, Hawaii. After discharge from the service in June of 1955, he attended San Jose Community College and San Jose State to study electrical engineering. For 3 summers between college academic years, he travelled to Alaska to work as a fire fighter, on the U.S. Distant Early Warning (DEW) line, and on construction of communication towers near Fairbanks, Alaska. In 1959 he returned to Iowa.

In 1961 he married Judith Chadwick in Indianola, IA.

They moved to Rapid City, South Dakota and then Tucson, Arizona where he worked for Martin Marietta on U. S. Missile Sites. After a short stay in Sunnyvale, California and Ames, Iowa they settled in at Lake Mills, Iowa where they lived for 12 years. In 1981, they moved to Lucas, Iowa where Dean worked for the Iowa Department of Transportation until his retirement in 1997.

After retirement, they decided they wanted to be closer to their daughter and family so they moved to North English, Iowa. Dean loved to attend golf meets, soccer games, volleyball meets and band concerts that his grandchildren were involved in. He enjoyed golfing, fishing and woodworking with his grandchildren. He spent many hours in his woodworking shop building furniture for family members.

He is survived by his wife, Judy of North English, his daughter, Lori Flugum (Doug) of Cedar Rapids, three grandchildren, Ryan Flugum (Jenna) of Columbia, Missouri, and Austin Flugum and Kerstin Flugum of Cedar Rapids. Also surviving is a brother James Cartwright of Oseola.

He was preceded in death by his parents.

Visitation will be held at Powell Funeral Home on Friday, October 26 from 5:00 – 7:00 PM. Burial and grave side rites will be held at 10:30 AM on Saturday, October 27 at Maple Hill Cemetery in Osceola, Iowa. Fellowship will follow at the First Christian Church in Osceola. In Lieu of flowers, a memorial fund has been established for iowa City Hospice and Cancer Care of Iowa City.

Powell Funeral Homes
The Williamsburg Journal Tribune, Iowa County Obituaries – 01 Nov 2012, pg 11
The English Valleys Star, 31 Oct 2012, pg 4