Robert C. DeMeulenaere, 23 Jul 1925 – 29 Jun 2013

DEMEULENAERE, MICHALEK, KEATING, CALLISON, BOTT, BERNS, ALLISON, FINCH, ROBERTS, BRUGMAN, BURNS, WAHL, DEBROWER, SINDELAR, MORPHY, KUROVSKI

Posted By: Sandy Ficken (email)
Date: 7/14/2013 at 13:38:19

Robert DeMeulenaere, 87
Funeral service and a celebration of life for Robert C. DeMeulenaere, 87, Victor, was held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 2, at St. Bridget Catholic Church, Victor. He died of lung cancer Saturday, June 29, 2013, at his home.
The funeral Mass was concelebrated by the Rev. Brian Shepley, the Rev. Philip Ryan and the Rev. Michael Keating.
Burial with military rites was in Calvary Cemetery, Victor.
Memorials may be sent to Box 278, Victor, Iowa 52347 for purchase of a St. Peregrine cancer statue memorial at St. Bridget Church.
Robert C. DeMeulenaere was born July 23, 1925, in Victor, the son of Emil and Agnes (Michalek) DeMeulenaere, the second of six children. He graduated from St. John’s Catholic High School, Victor, and attended St. Ambrose College, Davenport. At age 17 he enlisted in the US Navy. From July 22, 1943, to July 22, 1946, he served his country during World War II as a hospital corpsman and medical technologist, stationed in San Diego, Calif.
Upon his Navy discharge, he returned to Iowa and in 1950, completed a degree in commerce from the University of Iowa. His career spanned more than four decades in the lumber business and the manufacturing industry. He was a co-owner of Wahl-Dee Lumber, Victor, for a number of years, and later worked as a purchaser and inventory control specialist for several companies, including Amana Refrigeration.
He married Regina Ellen Keating Aug. 6, 1951, at St. Peter’s Catholic Church, Temple Hill. Throughout their married life, they lived in Cedar Rapids, Belle Plaine and Victor, and enjoyed 58 years together before her death in 2009.
He was a lifelong volunteer, donating time and effort to his church, his community and to the civic or service organizations to which he belonged. For more than 50 years, he was a member of the Victor American Legion and the Knights of Columbus, where he achieved fourth degree status. He was a volunteer firefighter and a Boy Scout leader in Victor for many years, and also volunteered weekly for more than 10 years at the V.A. Hospital in Iowa City.
He was a diehard Democrat, Cubs fan and Catholic, although as he was often heard to say, “not necessarily in that order.” He was also an avid golfer who, through last summer, played regularly and could still out-chip or out-putt some of his younger family members.
During his lifetime, he also enjoyed a rousing game of cards (and had some special phrases he reserved specifically for those occasions), listening and dancing to Big Band music, family dinners and get-togethers, Iowa and Iowa State football, fishing and hunting, as well as the time that those occasions awarded him with his children and grandchildren. He loved to travel and in addition to numerous family trips, he and his wife enjoyed wintering in Texas for many years after their retirement.
To the joy of four generations of his family, he embodied a fun-loving spirit that only deepened after the arrival of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was a great supporter of HLV, West Branch, Iowa City and Mount Mercy College sports and music programs and put thousands of miles on his pickup traveling to watch his grandchildren perform or compete. Up to the time of his cancer diagnosis, he was also a regular at his great-grandchildren’s music, dance and sporting events, including some that he and the little ones invented on their own, which usually entailed chasing each other around Grandpa D’s house.

He had a tremendous sense of humor, a ready smile and a heart of gold that he happily shared with his family, friends and people in need. A member of St. Bridget Church all his life, he also enjoyed an unwavering faith that brought his great comfort, strength and guidance.
DeMeulenaere is suvived by his children and their spouses, Mary Jo (Jodi) DeMeulenaere and Gary (Butch) Callison, Iowa City; Pat and Phil Bott, Victor; Susan and Larry Berns, Cedar Rapids, and Paul DeMeulenaere, Iowa City; seven grandchildren and their families and nine great-grandchildren, Zach, Cassie, Jaisel and Cooper Bott, Marengo; Stephanie, Keith, Katie, Robbie and Rubianne Allison, Marengo; Erin, Grant, Colin and Tyson Finch, Coralville; Tom, Katy, Haley and Claire DeMeulenaere, Iowa City; Sean Roberts and fiance Sarah Brugman, Moscow; Megan DeMeulenaere and special friend Cody Burns, Iowa City, and Laura Roberts, Iowa City; numerous other relatives and friends, including his family members, Joan Wahl, Betty DeBrower, Mary Sindelar and Ed DeMeulenaere, and a sister-in-law, Joan Morphy.
He was preceded in death by his wife; one sister, Lorraine Kurovski, and numerous other relatives.

The Williamsburg Journal Tribune, Iowa County Obituaries – 04 Jul, 2013
Published in The Gazette July 1, 2013.
Warrior Tribune 03 Jul 2013