James Kermit Eland (1914 - 1980)

ELAND, WELCH, WRIGHT, MEHAFFY

Posted By: Pamela Wagler
Date: 2/21/2021 at 16:51:38

The Hawkeye
Burlington, Iowa
February 7, 1980

James Kermit Eland

MEDIAPOLIS - Kermit Eland, 65 year-old businessman and civic leader, suffered a fatal heart attack while attending the Mediapolis high school basketball game about 8 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 5 (1980).

He was stricken on the concourse outside the gymnasium.

He was president of Des Moines County Mutual Insurance Co., owner of Eland Real Estate and Insurance Co., and secretary of Eastern Iowa Light and Power Co-op.

He was the son of Robert E. and Mary Jane Welch Eland, and was born April 8, 1914, at Mediapolis. He married Ethel Wright Jan. 1, 1941, in Mediapolis.

He served in the Army in World War II. He was an elder of First United Presbyterian church and a member of the Lions and Mediapolis Businessmen clubs.

Surviving: the wife; two sons, Douglas, San Antonio, Texas, and Bradley, Iowa City; two brothers, Ivan Eland, Cedar Falls, and Robert H. Eland, Mediapolis; two sisters, Ella Eland and Roberta Mehaffy, both of Mediapolis; and three grandchildren.

Funeral: 2 p.m. Friday, First United Presbyterian church, Rev. Aaron Koskamp; Kossuth cemetery. A memorial has been established at Fry chapel.