Richard “Rick” Michaelson
MICHAELSON, RYKKEN, DOMINY, ZAICHENKO
Posted By: Sarah Fletcher (email)
Date: 2/26/2024 at 07:57:20
Richard “Rick” Michaelson of Iowa City passed away on Tuesday, January 30, 2024. He was 64 years old.
Rick was the third of three sons born to Samuel and Marilyn (Rykken) Michaelson in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He spent his early childhood in Minnesota before moving to Waverly, Iowa, where he graduated from Waverly-Shell Rock Senior High and Wartburg College. In 1986, Rick married Susan Dominy of Waverly; they would later divorce.
Rick attended medical school at the Carver College of Medicine, graduating in 1990. He then completed both his residency and psychiatry fellowship at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and earned a Master’s Degree in Public Health.
Rick spent the next ten years serving the community as a psychiatrist at the Community Mental Health Center in Iowa City. He was valued by his patients and colleagues for his compassion, efficacy, and distinct sense of humor.
Rick loved music and had an especially extensive knowledge of classical music, even considering studying conducting before deciding to pursue medicine. He adored Shakespeare and his passion for Tolkien was unparalleled. In adulthood, he devoted considerable study to the craft of woodworking, building pieces for his home or gifting them to family.
Rick will be best remembered for his quick wit and his capacious mind. His life-long passion for reading equipped him with general knowledge both broad and deep; it was impossible to have a dull conversation with Rick.
Rick was preceded in death by his partner of twenty-four years, Jennifer Zaichenko, who passed away in October of 2023. He is survived by two brothers, Charles (Barbara) Michaelson of Coralville, and Robert (Anya) Michaelson of San Antonio, Texas. He also leaves behind a niece, Sarah Michaelson of Lake Forest, Illinois, and a nephew, Erik Michaelson of Brooklyn, New York.
A Celebration of Life and a sharing of memories will be held at Lensing’s Oak Hill Funeral Home at 210 Holiday Road in Coralville, Iowa on June 23, 2024. The event will begin at 3:00 pm.
Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service
Johnson Obituaries maintained by Cindy Booth Maher.
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