Worth Richard "Dick" Deets (2009)

DEETS, YOUNG, GUSE, STEELE, PACE, MCALPINE

Posted By: Mary Welty Hart (email)
Date: 12/11/2009 at 10:19:10

Oolman Funeral Home, Orange City, Ia
December 11, 2009 Obituary

W. RICHARD "DICK" DEETS, Orange City, Ia

Worth Richard “Dick” Deets, age 73, of Orange City, Iowa, passed away peacefully in his home surrounded by family on Monday, December 7, 2009.

There will be a funeral service on Saturday, December 12, at 10:30am, at the American Reformed Church in Orange City. The Rev. Keith Krebs will officiate. Interment will follow at the West Lawn Cemetery in Orange City. Visitation will be after 4:00pm on Friday, with the family present from 5:00pm to 7:00pm, at the Oolman Funeral Home in Orange City.

Dick was born in Winterset, Iowa on June 18, 1936, to Worth H. and Mildred (Young) Deets, who farmed 160 acres outside of town. They moved to Earlham, Iowa, and later to Des Moines, Iowa where he graduated from North High School. He was a member of the Iowa Air National Guard between 1954 and 1962, serving as a Pharmacy Specialist. Dick attended Drake University in Des Moines, and graduated in 1959 with a degree in Pharmacy. While at Drake, he was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon, where his fraternity brother introduced him to his future wife, Ellene Guse.

They were married on August 29, 1959, and moved to Orange City, Iowa, in 1961. Shortly after moving to Orange City, they purchased the Village Drug. Many will remember Dick as the pharmacist there for over thirty years. After selling the store in the mid 1990's, Dick spent the next thirteen years working at Family Pharmacy in LeMars, Iowa, as well as Valley Pharmacy and Pember Drug in Rock Valley, Iowa. In 2003, Dick was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease. He moved to the Happy Siesta Nursing Home in Remsen, Iowa, on December 29, 2008. On December 2, 2009, he returned to his home in Orange City.

Dick was a member of the American Reformed Church, serving as Building Fund Treasurer, Sunday School Teacher, Deacon and Elder. One of Dick's special gifts was ministering to those in need. He delivered church bulletins to shut-ins, offering prayer and a listening ear. He was a faithful Chancel Choir member for over three decades.

He served the citizens of Orange City as a member of the Chamber of Commerce for over 45 years. He was also a charter member of the Jaycees, where one of the biggest tasks he undertook was the county-wide polio clinic. He was honored as the Jaycee of the month for January, 1968. He was a member of the Planning and Zoning Commission for 22 years, the last 19 years as Vice-Chairman. He belonged to the Northwestern College Booster Club. He enjoyed golfing and was a member at the Landsmeer Golf Club. Dick loved to sing and for a number of years, he sang bass in Meester Zangkoor, a Master of Song Chorus.

As a member of the American Pharmaceutical Association and the Iowa Pharmacist Association, Dick served on various committees and was a member of the House of Delegates. He represented the Iowa Pharmacist Association at many national conventions. For two terms he also served on the Board of Trustees.

In the 1990's his journey of faith lead him to attend Promise Keepers for several years. As a result of this experience, a number of men from the American Reformed Church started a Thursday night prayer group that he attended faithfully.

Dick loved spending time with his family and celebrated fifty years of marriage on August 29 of this year. He also enjoyed playing golf, bowling, photography, and fixing almost anything around the house and at his rental properties. Some might remember that Dick earned his pilot's license and loved flying.

Grateful to have shared Dick's life are his wife, Ellene; his brother, William (Jackie) Deets of Perry, Iowa; his five daughters, Pam Deets of North Sioux City, South Dakota; Jennifer (Brian) Steele of Vermillion, South Dakota; Valerie (David) Pace of Ocean Springs, Mississippi; Erica (Robert) McAlpine of Hull, Iowa; and Belinda Deets (Shane Jones) of Westfield, Iowa. He will also be missed by his ten grandchildren, Ryan and Eddie Deets, Tyler and Aaron Steele, Rachel and Sarah Pace, Whitney, Kyle and Austin McAlpine, and Noah Jones.

Dick was preceded in death by his parents, Worth and Mildred Deets, and many special aunts and uncles.

The family wishes to thank Conrad Harthoorn, Jay DeJong, and Robin Miskimins for many acts of kindness, the Orange City Area Home Health and Hospice for their loving care, and the Memory Loss Support Group.

Memorials may be directed to the Orange City Area Home Health and Hospice, the Senior Companion program, or the special music fund at the American Reformed Church.