Dr. Maynard Ukena (1910-2006)
UKENA, SMITH, COREY, HOLMES, KERR
Posted By: Ames Tribune
Date: 5/27/2006 at 10:18:07
THE AMES TRIBUNE, Ames, Story County, Iowa, Saturday May 27, 2006.
Dr. Maynard Ukena, 95, of Ames, died Thursday, May 25, at Mary Greeley Medical Center.
Memorial services will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 31, at Collegiate United Methodist Church. Arrangements have been entrusted to the Adams Funeral Home.
THE AMES TRIBUNE, Ames, Story County, Iowa, Tuesday, May 30, 2006.
Dr. Maynard Ukena, 95, a long time resident of Ames, died Thursday, May 25. A memorial service will be at 10 a.m., Wednesday, May 31, at Collegiate Methodist Church. Burial will be in Ames Cemetery.
He was born Nov. 13, 1910, on the family farm near Germania, now Lakota, to George and Ida, both Frisian (modern day Holland and Germany) immigrants to the United States in the 1880s. He was the youngest of six children. Sara, Jerry, Theresa, Beatrice and Gerald all preceded him in death.
He is survived by his wife of 30 years, Marilou; two sons, Tom (Sue) Ukena of Northborough, Mass., and Rick (Jan) Ukena of Portland, Ore.; two daughters Sherrie (Kip) Smith of Clancy, Mont., and Jan (Bob) Corey of Des Moines; and five granddaughters Amy, Jenny, Alisha, Khamsin and Mikayla.
He graduated from Lakota High in a class of six in 1928. He enrolled at the University of Dubuque in the fall of 1928, and the University of Iowa in the fall of 1930. He completed his bachelor's degree. in 1931, his DDS (MS) in 1935 and orthodontic specialty in 1936, as the 15th graduate of the School of Orthodontics at the University of Iowa. He established the first orthodontic practice in Marshalltown in 1936 and then in 1938 was the first orthodontist in Ames.
He served in the U.S. Army Dental Corps, 9th Service Command, at Ft. Lewis, Wash. In 1942, he met Lt. Bertha Holmes, U.S. Army Nurse Corps, and they were married Feb. 13, 1943. They were transferred to England in the summer of 1943. Bertha left the service in the fall of 1945 to return to the United States for the birth of Thomas on Dec. 12, 1945, in West Covina, Calif. Maynard left the service with rank of captain in 1946 and returned to Iowa to resume orthodontic practice. They rented a house in Colo, and Richard was born July 25, 1947. They moved to Ames in 1948 and moved to 1704 Burnett Ave. in the spring of 1952. Bertha died in June 1973.
He sold the Marshalltown practice in 1960 and continued the Ames practice until he retired in 1985. He was recognized as a distinguished fellow for his support to build an endowment for the University of Iowa College of Dentistry. He also received the Iowa Orthodontics Award of Merit in appreciation of outstanding professional accomplishment.
He married Marilou Kerr in June 1976, and the family grew to include her daughters, Sherrie and Jan. They have enjoyed many exciting adventures all over the world. He loved ballroom dancing, snow skiing, tennis, flower gardening, hunting, fishing and playing his clarinet. He was active in Collegiate United Methodist Church and the Red Friars Ballroom Dance Club.
He named the most influential people in his life to be his mother, Ida, and lifelong friend and University of Dubuque/U of I roommate and mentor Dr. Paul Laube. His mother encouraged him to leave Lakota to further his education. He donated a dormitory suite at University of Dubuque in her honor. Dr. Laube was a Dubuque native who mentored him. They remained close lifelong friends.
He gave major gifts to fund the Ukena Family Tennis Courts at Ames High School and the refurbishing of the Ames Bandshell. He was active in Rotary and was a Paul Harris Fellow.
The family requests in lieu of flowers that memorials be sent to the Ames Bandshell Fund, city of Ames.
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