Wittrup, Richard Derald (1926 - 2021)

WITTRUP, SORENSON, TAYLOR, BORST

Posted By: Denise Wurner (email)
Date: 2/5/2021 at 16:38:56

Name of deceased: Richard Derald Wittrup

Aged: 94 yrs, 3 mo, 12 days

Residence: Harlan, Shelby County, IA

Born: Oct. 2, 1926; Marne, Cass County, IA

Died: Jan. 14, 2021; Myrtue Medical Center, Harlan, Shelby County, IA

Funeral services: Friday, Jan. 22, 2021; Pauley Jones Funeral Home, Harlan, IA

Survived by: Children, Kenton Wittrup (spouse, Sandra) of Lynn, MA, Alan Wittrup of Scituate, MA, Eleanor Wittrup of Valley Springs, CA, Katrina Taylor (spouse, Nigel) of Sancreed, Cornwall, England, and Steve Borst (spouse, Jennifer) of Salt Lake City, UT; other family members and friends

Predeceased by: Parents, Otis and Ruby Wittrup; wife, Marilyn (deceased June 26, 2020)

Education: Received his elementary education in a one-room country schoolhouse in Polk Township, Shelby County, IA. through Grade 8. A few years later, Richard secured the job driving the school bus, enabling him to attend and graduate from Harlan (IA) High School. After his military service, he attended the University of Missouri, aspiring to become a journalist; in Dec. 1950, he earned his bachelor's degree in economics. Hoping to advance his journalism career, he enrolled as a graduate student at the University of Chicago. He received an MBA in 1955.

Religious affiliation: With his family, was an early member of Merrill's Grove Baptist Church, IA. After his marriage, they attended numerous churches wherever his job would take them.

Military service: U. S. Army, June 1945 until April 1947, with 16 months spent in Naples, Italy. There, he served as a secretary for a general who was supervising the reconstruction in Europe and where he learned to type. He was discharged with the rank of Staff Sergeant.

Marriage: Marilyn Eleanor Sorenson; June 7, 1949; location not provided

Employment: While attending the University of Chicago, Richard found work preparing patient discharge summaries at the University Hospital. While there, he changed the direction of his education and life to the challenges of healthcare. After being appointed to an administrative position in the University Health Clinics, he received an MBA in 1955, thus beginning a lifelong career in health care management.

In 1957, Richard was asked to become the founding administrator of the University of Kentucky Hospital in Lexington. In 1960, the newly constructed hospital opened its doors, and he oversaw its operation for the next 8 years. He served as the youngest hospital administrator in the country. Richard also began writing for the hospital journals of the day.

In 1968, he was recruited to Boston to assist in the formation of a new teaching hospital to be affiliated with Harvard's Medical School. Richard was deeply involved in the development of the new hospital building. He continued to write and published extensively on many topics ranging from healthcare to the role of culture in human behavior and current events.

In 1978 he accepted an offer to be the founding administrator of the King Abdul-Aziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the first teaching hospital to be constructed there. in 1980, a 120-bed hospital was opened. Over the next 8 years, a small American team guided the Saudi administrators in the operation of their hospital while planning for the 1200-bed hospital to follow. During this time, requests for assistance with planning, staffing and management of numerous hospitals and clinics across the Kingdom, as well as other countries from Jordan to Pakistan, resulted in interesting and challenging work.

In 1988, Richard and Marilyn relocated to Detroit, MI where he served as an executive advisor to the CEO of the Henry Ford Hospital System. Subsequently, he held a similar position with the Methodist Hospital System in Houston, TX. His administrative and management skills were valued by all who knew him. He retired in 1996.

Hobbies/Interests: In his earlier years, he sang as part of a barbershop quartet; enjoyed singing in productions of the Jeddah Light Opera Society; loved reading; traveling; enjoyed an active social life

Source: harlanonline.com; kjan.com; knodfm.com; pauleyjones.com; iagenweb.org/boards/shelby/obituaries/index.cgi?read=771285; Ancestry.com, U.S., World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946; Ancestry.com, U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947; Ancestry.com, 1930 United States Federal Census