Dr. David W. Gregory (1914-2009)
GREGORY, OLANDER, GREGORY-BJORKLUND, BJORKLUND
Posted By: Ames Tribune
Date: 11/6/2009 at 07:25:10
THE AMES TRIBUNE, Ames, Story County, Iowa, Wednesday, November 4, 2009.
Dr. David W. Gregory, 95, died Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009, at home in Ames, after a long illness. Funeral services will be in Northfield, Minn. A complete obituary with service details will be forthcoming.
He is survived by his wife, Marjorie; their five grown children, Paula (Denny) Olander, of St. Paul, Minn., Ron (Mary) Gregory, of Sartell, Minn., David D. (Liz) Gregory, of Portage, Wis., Ann (Bob) Gregory-Bjorklund, of Dundas, Minn., and Melissa Gregory, of Northfield, Minn.; 11 grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; one brother, Tom (Jean) Gregory, of Cary, N.C.; and six nieces and nephews.
Local arrangements are by Adams and Soderstrum Funeral Homes in Ames.
THE AMES TRIBUNE, Ames, Story County, Iowa, Tuesday, November 10, 2009.
Dr. David W. Gregory, 95, died Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009, at home in Ames after a long illness. Visitation will be at 1 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, at First United Church of Christ, 300 Union St., in Northfield, Minn., with funeral services at 2 p.m. The burial service will immediately follow at Red Rose Cemetery in Waterford, Minn. After the burial, all are invited back to the church for refreshments and a social gathering.
David spent the first 14 years of his life in Latin America where his father was a missionary for the Presbyterian Church. Losing his mother from an infection when he was 7, having his father travel away from the family for weeks at a time doing mission work, and being so far from extended family members all created in him a longing to live back in the United States mainland. It also made him intensely aware of the importance of family and being together.
He fell in love with Marjorie Stowell on the day of homecoming the first time he saw her on the University of Minnesota campus. (Marjorie was an undergraduate related arts major student there, and David had just started a Ph.D. program.) He said to the friend he was with, “That’s the girl I’m going to marry!”
He followed her home after the homecoming game to see where she lived, then went back to campus and called her, asking her to go to the homecoming dance that night. She refused because of course she already had a date and besides, she didn’t even know who he was. She thought he was rather forward.
He eventually persuaded her to go out with him, and the romance blossomed into marriage three years later. They were married two weeks after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941. Deeply devoted and loyal to each other, they were married for 67 years, during which time they raised five children and then went on to enjoy life as grandparents.
David was passionate about his work as a veterinarian and bacteriologist. And he was happiest when he was outdoors, whether it was working at his veterinary job, working in their yard that bordered the Skunk River, or even better, off on some outdoor adventure, canoeing, biking, hiking or camping.
He shared his great love of the outdoors with his children and grandchildren, going on many backpacking trips with two or more of them at a time to places such as the Grand Canyon, the Uinta Mountains, Arches National Park, etc. He was interested in geology and especially enjoyed bringing back rocks from every backpacking trip he took.
While spending his high school years with his father’s extended family both in the Pocono Mountain region and in Stroudsburg, Pa., he developed an interest in livestock and poultry. He went on to study agriculture, graduating with of Bachelor of Science degree from Kansas State College, which was close to his maternal grandparents’ home. He received a Master of Science degree in poultry bacteriology from North Carolina State College, where he later worked as an assistant professor of bacteriology.
For three years during World War II, he worked as a medical bacteriologist in the U.S. Army. After the war, he returned to Kansas State College where he earned a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree. He had a veterinary practice from 1949 to 1966 in Washington, Iowa, during which time he also did research on Edema Disease and E. coli.
From 1966 until retirement in 1986, he was a biologist in research, specializing in E. coli at the National Animal Disease Laboratories in Ames.
He authored many scientific articles on bacterial disease in domesticated animals. His work on E. coli is cited in the 4th edition of “The Infectious Diseases of Domestic Animals” by Hagan and Bruner. Dr. Gregory was listed in the 1991 to 1992 “Who’s Who in Veterinary Science and Medicine.” He was also a frequent speaker over the years at U.S. Veterinary conventions and once in Canada.
He is survived by his wife, Marjorie; their five grown children, Paula (Denny) Olander, of St. Paul, Minn., Ron (Mary) Gregory, of Sartell, Minn., David D. (Liz) Gregory, of Portage, Wis., Ann (Bob) Gregory-Bjorklund, of Dundas, Minn., and Melissa Gregory, of Northfield, Minn.; 11 grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; brother, Tom (Jean) Gregory, of Cary, N.C.; and six nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Raymond Rogers and Elise Marie (Wolter) Gregory; and his younger brother, Paul Gregory, who died in the Philippines during World War II.
Memorial donations can be sent to National Parks Conservation Association.
Funeral arrangements are by Adams and Soderstrum Funeral Homes in Ames.
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