Dr. Gary Fingert
FINGERT, BURNETT, GILFIX
Posted By: Sarah Fletcher (email)
Date: 1/26/2024 at 12:30:25
Dr. Gary Fingert, 82, passed away on November 25, 2023 at home surrounded by his family. He was born March 15, 1941 in Marshalltown, Iowa to Betty and Hyman Fingert. Gary enjoyed life in Marshalltown and helped his parents in the Fingert’s corner grocery store, often delivering groceries on his bicycle to customers in the neighborhood. Gary was twelve when his father passed away. Gary, his brother Morton, and his mother then moved to Des Moines to be closer to family. Gary attended Roosevelt High School in Des Moines, where he was a guard on the 1958 State Championship football team and where he met his wife, Loretta.
Gary attended the University of Iowa and graduated from the College of Dentistry in1966. He was a member of Phi Epsilon Pi fraternity and Delta Sigma Delta Dental Fraternity. Following graduation, Gary and Loretta moved to Virginia, where Gary served his country as a Navy Lieutenant at the Norfolk Naval Station Dental Clinic. He liked to say he fought “tooth decay and Communism” for the USA.
Gary returned to Des Moines in1968 and established a dental practice on the westside. Gary’s patients appreciated his skillful care and his gentle hands. After moving away, many patients returned to Des Moines several times a year, in order to have Gary continue to care for their teeth. When the Jewish community sponsored many Russian families, helping them to leave a hostile environment and resettle in Des Moines, Gary cared for their teeth without charge. He often needed to secure an interpreter, in order to tell his grateful patients to “open wide.” Gary practiced with Dr. Robert Anderson, in the latter years of his dental career.
Faced with many health challenges, beginning with 7 heart bypasses when he was 47, Gary chose to follow the Ornish Reversing Heart Disease Program, helping to establish it at Des Moines Mercy, where he inspired and mentored heart patients for many years.
Gary was a gifted model ship builder, always beginning with a few planks of lumber and constructing the ships as they would have been built in a shipyard. He built a 6’ by 6’ model of the Constitution from blueprints of the original ship. He built many models from scratch, rigged them, and attended to minute details to ensure the accuracy of his models. Gary also built a fleet of real boats for his children, Jane and John. He would send for boat building books with plans and instructions and then build boats in a large tent in our backyard. Gary built a Cat’s Paw Dingy for his daughter, Jane and a canoe, rowing shell and sailboats for son, John. The men in our Waterbury Circle neighborhood, would often come to our tent to view the “Fingert Boatworks.” Gary also built an exact replica of our home on Waterbury Circle, providing a lovely dollhouse for Jane, complete with furniture, electricity and a collection of miniature model boats tucked into cases in the third floor attic playroom. Other building projects: a large outdoor playhouse, 4th of July car/float for the neighborhood parade, a balance beam, secret hideout for John, a screened porch and a garage.
Gary was passionate about his family, his dogs, (especially our Black Lab, Merlin) and sailing on the family boat, the “Jane Anne.” Gary loved the wind, sunshine and the peaceful sound of the waves lapping the boat and the lines clanking against the mast. He was happiest when he could share a sail with family and friends.
Gary was happily married to Loretta for 59 years. Gary is survived by his daughter, Jane Burnett (Bruce Gilfix) and a son, John (Alejandra) and his beloved grandchildren, Ben Burnett and Luciana Fingert.
Gary touched our family, his patients and friends, with his professional skills, his smile, joy for life, his wit and sense of humor and his love. Thanks to Iowa Heart, UIHC physicians, the VA, Hospice and the loving caregivers who enabled Gary to remain at home as he faced challenges from Parkinson’s Disease. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the following organizations in Iowa City: Agudas Achim Synagogue, Animal Care and Adoption Center, and national organizations: Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinsons Research and US Sea Cadets.
The funeral will be held at Agudas Achim Synagogue, 401 E Oakdale Blvd, Coralville, Iowa at 12:00 PM on Friday, December 1, 2023. A recording of the funeral will be available at www.lensingfuneral.com later in the afternoon.
Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service
Johnson Obituaries maintained by Cindy Booth Maher.
WebBBS 4.33 Genealogy Modification Package by WebJourneymen