Dr. Dean Mason Harms (1942-2010)
HARMS, SEVERSON, BRINKMAN, FREITAS, GAMBLE
Posted By: Nevada Journal
Date: 8/23/2010 at 10:04:21
THE NEVADA JOURNAL, Nevada, Story County, Iowa, Thursday, August 19, 2010.
Dr. Dean Mason Harms of Ames, Iowa died of pancreatic cancer at his home Sunday, August 15, 2010. Memorial services were held at Collegiate United Methodist Church in Ames on Wednesday.
Dr. Harms was born October 25, 1942 to Hyla Ann Severson Harms and Rudolph John Henry Harms in Alden, Iowa. He grew up on a farm near Alden and graduated from Alden High School, Iowa State University, and the University of Iowa College of Medicine. He married Mary Jane Brinkman June 11, 1966 at the Colo United Methodist Church, Colo, Iowa. Dr. Harms completed his internship at Sacramento County Hospital in California, his ophthalmology residency at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, and served as a medical officer in the United States Air Force. In 1975 he began his ophthalmology practice in Ames, Iowa. He was known as a dedicated and compassionate physician who always considered his patients as friends.
Dr. Harms was a member and served on the Board of Councilors of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. He held leadership positions in the Iowa Academy of Ophthalmology, the Story County Medical Society, and the Ames Morning Rotary Club, and was a member of Collegiate United Methodist Church in Ames.
Dr. Harms enjoyed doing volunteer work at the Central Christian Ophthalmology Clinic in El Progresso, Honduras (CCSM de Honduras), where he did eye surgery and was on the board of the L.D. Perry Memorial Scholarship Fund, which he helped establish. A library serving the high school and community in El Porvinier, Honduras, has been named in his honor. He also enjoyed gardening, travel, and catching a nice walleye.
He is survived by his wife, Mary, as well as his children, Philip Harms, Sarah Freitas (husband Gary), and Mark Harms, and three treasured grandchildren: Joseph, Ryan, and Julia Freitas. He is also survived by sister Ann Gamble and her husband Richard Gamble of Spirit Lake, Iowa; brother Everett Harms and his wife Ann of Alden, Iowa; and nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the City of Ames Trees for Parks Memorial Fund or Story County Conservation (Friends of Conservation Trust Fund).
The Bacon Funeral Home in Nevada handled arrangements.
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