Richard Merlin Kolbet 1941-2006

SCHOENBERG, KOLBET

Posted By: michael (email)
Date: 3/27/2006 at 09:07:27

Richard Merlin Kolbet, 64 of 158 Glenn Drive, Iowa City, died Saturday March 25, 2006 at his home.

A memorial mass will be celebrated at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 28, 2006, at St. Thomas More Catholic Church, 405 N. Riverside Drive, Iowa City. Reverend Walter Helms will officiate. Richard is being cremated and will be interred at St. Joseph Cemetery at a later date. Visitation will be from 5-8 p.m. Monday at Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service, 605 Kirkwood Ave, Iowa City where a prayer service and sharing time will be held at 7:30 p.m. Memorial contributions can be made in Richard’s name to St. Thomas More Catholic Church or the University of Iowa Library Special Collections Department, U of Iowa Foundation, P.O. Box 4550, Iowa City, IA 52244.

Richard was born on November 30, 1941, in Spokane, WA to Theodore and Evelyn Schoenberg Kolbet. He graduated in 1963 from Gonzaga University with a B.A. in English. He married Gale Svoboda on June 12, 1965 in Vashon Island, WA. Richard earned his M.A. in Library Science from the University of Washington in 1965. He worked at the University of Iowa Libraries, in Special Collections and Administrations, from 1965 to 2001, when he retired.

Richard was a member of St. Thomas More Catholic Church, American Library Association, Iowa Library Association, Society of American Archivists, Midwest Archivist Conference, and Friends of the University Libraries. In his leisure time he enjoyed traveling, landscaping, cooking, woodworking and fishing.

Richard is survived by his wife Gale of Iowa City, three children: Ted of Fort Madison, IA, Sarah Schutt (Don) of McFarland, WI; Carl (Cassidy) of New York City, NY; four grandchildren: Sam and Ben Schutt, and Milend and Bayla Kolbet; three siblings: Ruth Eichhorn (Edgar) of Tracy, CA, Mary Kenney (Jerry) Tucson, AZ, James Kolbet (Eunice) Tualatin, OR; and his mother-in-law Doris Svoboda of Iowa City.

Richard was preceded in death by his parents and a brother, Daniel.

On-line condolences may be directed to www.lensingfuneral.com.