Millsap, Dr. Kenneth Foster

Dr. Kenneth Foster Millsap, 91, of Iowa City, died peacefully Friday, July 24, 2009, at Hills Atrium Village in Hills. Funeral services will be 10 a.m. Tuesday at First United Methodist Church, Iowa City, with the Rev. John Raab officiating. (Sunday parking ordnance will be in effect for the streets around the church.) Burial, with military honors, will be at the Lone Tree Cemetery. Following the burial, a reception will be held at the Lone Tree American Legion. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Monday at Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service in Iowa City.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to First United Methodist Church of Iowa City or Iowa City Hospice.

Online condolences may be sent for his family through the Web at

Dr. Millsap was born July 9, 1918, in Bloomfield, Iowa, the son of Thomas Foster and Mary Ellen Lyons Millsap. He graduated from Bloomfield High School in 1935 and from Bloomfield Junior College in 1937. He attended the University of Iowa, graduating in 1939 with a bachelor's degree in social studies. During his undergraduate years, he attended many classes with Nile Kinnick, discovering they shared the same birth date. Dr. Millsap received his master's degree in 1947 in political science and a Ph.D. in political science/public administration in 1950. He served in the U.S. Army in the China-Burma-India Theater during World War II. After the war, he was appointed a captain in the Army Air Force Reserve.

He was united in marriage to Florence Elizabeth Eden on Aug. 16, 1942, at First Methodist Church in Iowa City and celebrated nearly 67 years together.

Dr. Millsap began his teaching career at Parsons College in Fairfield in the fall of 1947. Later he returned to Parsons in 1952 as professor of Political Science and director of the Mid-America Foundation. Other higher education teaching assignments included Michigan State University, California State University at Long Beach and the University of Denver, where he was chairman of the Political Science department for six years. From 1978 to 1982, he was a visiting professor in the Department of Political Science at Iowa State University. Retiring in 1982, Dr. Millsap continued to teach at the University of Iowa in the evening division.

From 1949 to 1952, he served as a research assistant and office manager for the State Historical Society of Iowa. During that time, he wrote many articles for The Palimpsest and the Iowa Journal of History and Politics.

Dr. Millsap also served as city clerk and Commissioner of Elections for Iowa City in the mid-1950s, returning in 1966 to serve as Iowa City's first assistant city manager. Later he served as a member of the Iowa City Civil Service Commission.

While in California, he was a member of the County of Los Angeles Charter Study Committee. He contributed Chapter 1 of the Report of the Iowa Little Hoover Commission for submission to the 54th General Assembly. From 1968 to 1979, he was a public administration specialist with the Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Iowa.

He was a member of First United Methodist Church, a 50-year member of the Abner No. 535 A.F. & A.M. Lodge at Lone Tree, Davenport Scottish Rite and Kaaba Shrine of Davenport and a 60-year member of the Lone Tree American Legion Post 457. He was also a member of Acacia fraternity, Omicron Delta Kappa, Pi Sigma Alpha, Order of Omega, China-Burma-India Veterans Association and the Carl F. Moersel Iowa Basha. He was a life member of the State Historical Society of Iowa and a member of the board of directors of the State Historical Society Inc. of Iowa.

His family includes his devoted and beloved wife, Florence; two sons, Robert David and wife Deborah of Iowa City and John Charles and wife Tammy of Cedar Rapids; five grandchildren, Jason, Joshua and Lucas Millsap, Christina Smith and Terry Washburn; three great-grandchildren, Wesley, Ciara and Kylee; and many nieces and nephews.

Dr. Millsap was an inspiration and loved by family, friends and his many students. His wealth of knowledge, sense of humor and kindness will be greatly missed.