Kiernan, Robert 'Max' 1923-2005

KIERNAN, LEEDOM, DYKSTRA

Posted By: Wilma J. Vande Berg - volunteer (email)
Date: 8/24/2014 at 12:43:33

Sioux Center News September 7, 2005

Robert Max Kiernan, 82, of Alton , died Thursday, September 1, at the Orange City Municipal Hospital. A memorial service was Tuesday September 6, at 10:30 a.m. at Alton Reformed Church with Ronald Brink, C. L. P., officiating. Interment was at the Nassau Township Cemetery, near Alton.

Kiernan was born on May 27, 1923, in Aurelia, the son of Earl St. Glair and Gertrude Elizabeth (Leedom) Kiernan. In 1929, his family moved to Wakefield, Nebraska, and in 1936, they moved to Alton. He graduated from Morningside College in Sioux City and served in the United States Army during World War H On March 29, 1946, he married Sylva Dykstra in Alton. For seven years, they made their home in Moville, where he was employed at the First Trust and Savings Bank. In 1954, they moved to Alton, where he began working at the Alton Savings Bank. In 1973, he became president of the bank. In December of 1989, he retired and became chairman of the board of directors of the Alton Bank Corporation, which operates the Community Banks in Alton, Orange City and Hospers.

He was a faithful member of Alton Presbyterian Church, where he served as a deacon, elder and Sunday school superintendent, and sang in the choir for many years. He also belonged to the Floyd American Legion Post in Alton, the Floyd Masonic Lodge in Orange City, and the Abu Bekr Shrine in Sioux City, where he sang with the Chanters. In addition, he was a member of the Siouxland and the Iowa Bankers Associations, where he held county and state offices. He was also a member of the Alton Chamber of Commerce, the Alton Area Development Corporation, the Sioux Golf and Country Club, and he was a founding member of the Alton Historical Society. The couple enjoyed wintering at the Fountain of the Sun in Mesa, Arizona, for many years.

Survivors include his wife of more than ,59 years; three sons, Dr. R. Martin Kiernan and his wife Susan of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Thomas Earl Kiernan, and his wife LaZanne of Alton and Dr. John Kiernan and his special friend Patty Stein, both of Sioux City; seven grandchildren; a brother and his wife, Dr. Tom and Darlene Kiernan of Savannah, Georgia; and nephews and nieces. He was preceded in death by a sister and her husband, Patricia and Dr. Carl Oelrich. Memorials will be directed to the Alton Presbyterian Church building fund.