Drennen, Dr. Robert M. 1929-2007

DRENNEN, KING, KUPER, GROSS

Posted By: Linda Ziemann, volunteer (email)
Date: 9/22/2009 at 16:59:48

LE MARS, Iowa -- Dr. Robert M. Drennen, 78, of Le Mars passed away Sunday, March 25, 2007, at Floyd Valley Hospital in Le Mars.

Services will be 11 a.m. Friday at United Methodist Church in Le Mars, with the Rev. Jason Larson officiating. Military rites conducted by the American Legion Wasmer Post 241. Burial will be at a later date in Memorial Cemetery. Visitation will be after 2 p.m. today, with the family present 6 to 8 p.m. and a Masonic service at 7 p.m., at Mauer-Johnson Funeral Home in Le Mars. Visitation will resume one hour prior to the service at the church.

Robert Martin Drennen was born March 21, 1929, in El Paso, Texas, the second child of Homer Kirk and Florence Julia (King) Drennen. He was raised in Ruthven, Iowa, where he attended grade school and the first three years of high school. He spent his senior year at Spencer (Iowa) High School, graduating in 1947. Following his high school graduation, he enrolled in Buena Vista College in Storm Lake, Iowa. He attended one year of classes before moving to California to stay with his brother, King, and sister-in-law, Evelyn. He lived with them for six months and worked in an aircraft factory.

In 1948, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and completed his basic training in San Diego, Calif. He trained as a corpsman and served in that capacity for about two years at the San Diego Naval Hospital. He was then assigned to the hospital ship, Haven, anchored in the Inchon and Pusan Harbors in Korea. Two years later, he earned his honorable discharge in 1952.

Shortly after returning to Ruthven, he enrolled in the University of Iowa and graduated with a doctor of dental surgery (DDS) degree in 1958. Following graduation, he established his dental practice in Le Mars. He married Glenda Kuper Gross at the United Methodist Church in Le Mars on Dec. 5, 1980. In 1998, he retired from dentistry after 40 years of practice.

He was a member of United Methodist Church and served on numerous committees. He served as president of the Le Mars Chamber of Commerce, Le Mars Lions Club and was a member of the library board for 29 years. He helped start the Plymouth County Museum and served as a board member. He also was a Master of the Masonic Lodge Giblem Lodge 323.

He enjoyed many hobbies that included motorcycling, riding, sailing, snow skiing, singing with the Barbershoppers Chorus as well as the church choir and a local quartet for many years. He also studied genealogy with Glenda.

He will be lovingly remembered by his wife, Glenda of Le Mars; two sons and their wives, Mark Emerson and Debra Jean Drennen Sr. of Ocoee, Fla., and Robert Pierce and Angelina Drennen of Knoxville, Tenn.; six grandchildren, Catherine Drennen Areu, Amanda Drennen, Mark Emerson Drennen Jr., Christina Marie Drennen, Colleen Marie Drennen and Robert Edward Drennen; a great-granddaughter, Angelee Areu; a sister-in-law, Evelyn Henrikson of Warrenton, Va.; and a brother-in-law, Robert Johnson of Knoxville, Iowa.

He was preceded in death by his parents; a sister, Geraldine Drennen; and a brother, Homer King Drennen.

~Source: The Sioux City Journal, March 29, 2007