Howard DORMAN

DORMAN, WALK, KOOP, WASHBURN, HIGHFILL, MADSEN, THACKER, MCCLURE

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 2/10/2024 at 13:06:47

Howard Dorman
March 6, 1932 --- 25 August 2021

Howard Dorman, age 89, of Belmond, Iowa, most recently of the Bickford Memory Care, Marion, Iowa, Iowa Girls Hall of Fame Softball Coach, died Wednesday, August 25, 2021, at Bickford Memory Care.

Public Funeral services will be Thursday, September 2, 2021, 11 AM, at the Belmond-Klemme High School Softball Diamond Complex. Burial with Full military honors will be in the Belmond Cemetery. Public Visitation will be Wednesday from 5-7 PM at the Trinity Lutheran Church 304, 3rd Avenue Northeast, Belmond, Iowa and will continue one hour prior to the funeral services at the softball diamond on Thursday.

Howard Dorman was born on March 6, 1932, at Earlham, Iowa. He was the third of six children, three boys, three girls, born to Harriet and Herman Dorman. He died on Aug. 25, 2010, at Bickford Cottage in Marion due to complications from Alzheimer’s disease.

Howard met Uralee Walk at the State Teachers College, now UNI. He enjoyed telling the story of how he caught her attention by throwing little pebbles toward her before she finally took notice. They lost touch while Howard served in the Army but reconnected and married on June 16, 1957. The marriage endured nearly 53 years until Lee died in April 2010.

In the Army, Howard served during the Korean War era but was a Cold Warrior, a member of a unit charged with deploying an atomic cannon in Europe. The huge artillery piece was designed to lob atomic shells at invading communists. Fortunately, they never came.

Howard is probably best known as a successful high school softball and girls’ basketball coach. In softball, he compiled a 1,019-429 record at Woden-Crystal Lake and Belmond-Klemme, led 11 teams to the state tournament and won two state titles in 1962 and 1963. He was named National Softball Coach of the Year in 1997, joined the Iowa Softball Coaches Hall of Fame in 1992 and coached 18 all-state players. In basketball, he took Belmond teams to the six-on-six state tournament in 1976, 77, 78 and 79. In 1977, Belmond knocked off No. 1 Ankeny 64-48.

But for all of those impressive statistics, Howard’s lasting legacy is the scores of students he nurtured, supported and taught over decades of coaching, teaching and working as a guidance counselor. Many reached out over the years to tell him how playing on his teams shaped their lives for the better. They saw him as more than a coach. He was a mentor who taught them lessons that proved valuable far beyond the softball diamond.

Howard was a worker. He rose early to teach driver’s education, to tend to his softball diamond or meet young pitchers in the gym to hone their skills. After practices and games, he would arrive home after dark. For several years he led detasseling crews. He not only coached high school sports but also coached fall middle school softball for several years and helped out with other programs. He worked in the yard, washed cars and cut piles of wood for his wood stove.

He was a volunteer. Howard was active in the Lions Club, served on the Belmond Ambulance Crew for many years, was elected to a term on the school board and drove the care car. An avid waterfowl hunter, Howard was a leader in the local Ducks Unlimited chapter.

Beyond those efforts he volunteered in countless other ways. He was a father and a grandfather, pulling his grandkids around in a cart behind his lawn tractor, flying kites with them in a nearby open field on Easter Sundays, helping them improve their athletic skills and watching them climb the many trees he planted in the yard over the years.

His yard, by the way, was immaculate. He tended to a large rose garden, knowing his wife enjoyed flowers. She would insist there was no need to buy her a present on various holidays and occasions, but he smartly never listened and always came through with a gift. He tagged along on her shopping trips even though it wasn’t exactly his favorite pastime. They enjoyed each other’s company, even when they didn’t quite see eye-to-eye.

And now, they’ll be back together. What a reunion that will be, although she may demand to know what took him so long.

He is survived by his sons, Joel (Lori Koop) of Pella and Todd (Katherine) of Marion and six grandchildren, Ashley Dorman (Brian Washburn) of Minneapolis, Jenny Dorman (Jake Highfill) of West Des Moines, Nick Dorman of West Des Moines, Jake Dorman of Des Moines, and Tess and Ella Dorman of Marion. He is also survived by four brothers and sisters, Lowell Dorman (Nedra) of Phoenix, Arizona, Dixie Madsen (Bill) of Cedar Falls, Jim Dorman of Casa Grande, Arizona, and Carol Thacker (Carter) of Bossier City, Louisiana. His cat, Boo Boo II, was a loyal companion until the end. He was preceded in death by his wife, Lee, his parents, Harriet and Herman, and a sister, Shirley McClure.

Memorials can be made to the Belmond-Klemme Booster Klub, the Belmond-Klemme Scholarship Foundation or Ducks Unlimited. Andrews Funeral Home, Belmond, Iowa, is handling funeral arrangements.

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[His death certificate records his birth in Des Moines, Polk, Iowa and not in Earlham per his obituary;]