Ronald 'Ron' P. Milder

RONALD "RON" P. MILDER

Iowa City

Ronald "Ron" P. Milder, 78, of Iowa City, died on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2020, at the Gardens at Brown Deer Place in Coralville.

Visitation will be Sunday from 3 to 7 p.m. at Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service in Iowa City, where a wake service will be held at 6:30 p.m. Funeral Mass will begin

10 a.m. Monday at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church in Iowa City with luncheon immediately following. Burial is planned for 1 p.m. Monday at St. Stanislaus cemetery in rural Hills, Iowa.

Instead of flowers, the family kindly requests that memorials be directed to Worldwide Marriage Encounter, the Regina Foundation or Iowa City Hospice.

He was born Dec. 7, 1941, in Iowa City, the son of Paul and Lillian (Frantz) Milder. Ron grew up in the Iowa City area, where he developed his love of agriculture and nature. He graduated from Regina High School in Iowa City and received his bachelor of art's degree in education from St. Ambrose College. Ron also attend Loyola University in Chicago and Mount Saint Bernard Seminary in Dubuque.

Ron served more than six years in the U.S. Army Reserves – completing his obligation stateside during the Vietnam War. After many dates, pizzas and movies, Ron married Patricia Heeney on June 6, 1969, at St. Thomas Moore Catholic Church in Iowa City. Ron and Pat were dedicated for many years to working with couples through Worldwide Marriage Encounter and Catholic Engaged Encounter. They recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with friends and family this past June.

Ron began his teaching career as an instrumental member of the religious education program within the catholic community. This lead to his career at Regina High School where he helped institute programs such as Christianity in the Community and Death and Dying and created the first AP American History program. Ron taught religious education curriculum, government and history at Regina High School for 36 years, retiring in 2007. Ron's love and dedication for the Regina community, continued throughout his retirement. These included Masses, recitals, graduations and sporting events involving his many grandchildren. He was a longtime member of St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church where he contributed as a cantor and lector and distributed communion. He loved reading, history and genealogy; most important were his wife and family. He was a top-notch craftsman, working construction in the summer for many years.

Surviving are his wife, Pat; children, Christopher Milder (Marcy) of Minneapolis, Jon Milder (Amy) of Iowa City, Sarah Healy (Bret) of Iowa City and adopted daughter, Susan Moen of Roseau, Minn.; grandchildren, Samantha, Nicholas, Kathryn and James Milder, Madison, Jaden, Alexa and Avery Healy, and Geoffrey Lovelace and Lukas Geutzk; siblings, Tom Milder (Marty) of Iowa City, Catherine Milder (Constance Ludwig) of Las Vegas, Phyllis Hathaway (The Rev. Eddie Pritchard) of Cedar Falls, John Milder (Sue Gordon) of Iowa City and Linda Miller (Jeff) of North Liberty; and many nieces and nephews.

Ron was preceded in death by his parents; father-in-law, James Heeney; brother-in-law, Larry Hathaway; and sister-in-law, Pat Milder.

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