William Simon Blagen (1916-2005)
BLAGEN, THEOBALD, ERMLER, IHLENFELDT, MARQUARDT
Posted By: Ames Tribune
Date: 8/30/2005 at 18:29:56
THE AMES TRIBUNE, Ames, Story County, Iowa, Tuesday, August 30, 2005.
William Simon Blagen, 88, of Ames, died at home Friday, Aug. 26. William Blagen was born on Sept. 8, 1916, in Madison, S.D., to Louis Hildor and Wilhelmina J. Blagen and was baptized and confirmed in Trinity Lutheran Church. On July 2, 1945, he married Betty Ruth Theobald of Dayton, Ohio, a second lieutenant flight nurse. The service was conducted by Bishop Sheddon in the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Wantage, England. He graduated in 1934 from Madison Central High School, where he was active in band, orchestra and football and attained the rank of Eagle Scout. In 1938, he received a bachelor of science in chemistry and mathematics from South Dakota State College in Brookings, and that same year he was commissioned a second lieutenant infantry in the Army Reserve. He continued his graduate studies in chemistry and serology while working as an instructor in the chemistry department. From 1934 to 1942, he was employed by Hayes-Lucas Lumber Company in Madison and became assistant manager there and in Henry, S.D.
During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army Air Corps as a glider pilot instructor and in combat intelligence with an F-47 Fighter Group in Europe, and was discharged with the rank of captain. In 1946, he returned to manage Hayes-Lucas at Wessington, S.D. Later, he managed two auto and farm implement companies in Madison, where he also worked as a public accountant.
He earned a bachelor of science in education and psychology in 1955 from Dakota State College in Madison, a master of science in school administration and ecology in 1960 from the University of South Dakota in Vermillion and a Ph.D. in ecology and medical physiology in 1967 from Iowa State University in Ames. He was a high school instructor in science and mathematics and a band director at Egan, S.D.; an instructor in chemistry and biology at the community college in Estherville; an instructor in zoology and wildlife biology at Iowa State University; associate professor of biology at Wisconsin State University at Whitewater, and professor of ecology at Drake University in Des Moines. He was active in church choirs and instrumental groups for many years and was a member of Kiwanis International, the American Society of Mammologists, the Iowa Academy of Sciences and the Ecological Society of America.
He was proudest of being known as a population ecologist, and he became director of the Program for Ecological Education in Iowa and a volunteer for the Population Crisis Committee. As such, he taught and spoke at high schools, colleges and service organizations in Ames and all over the Midwest, promoting responsible population regulation.
He is survived by his wife, Betty of Ames; two daughters, Barbara L. Ermler of The Plains, Va., and Bonnie E. Ihlenfeldt of Warrenville, Ill.; three grandsons, Todd C. Ihlenfeldt, Nicholas W. Ihlenfeldt and Justin M. Ermler; and one sister, Helen L. Marquardt of Madison, S.D.
He was preceded in death by his parents; an infant brother, Louis Hildor Jr.; and one infant son, Louis Hildor III.
Visitation will be from 3 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 31, at Adams Funeral Home in Ames with the family present after 5 p.m. Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 1, at First Christian Church. Burial will be in Graceland Cemetery in Madison, S.D.
Memorials may be directed to First Christian Church or Mid-Iowa Community Action.
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