Wise, Richard Arlen 'Artie'

Richard Arlen Wise “Artie,” 81, of Cedar Rapids, died after a short illness, Sunday, July 22, 2012, at Mercy Medical Center. Services: 11 a.m. Friday, July 27, at Murdoch-Linwood Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Cedar Rapids, by the Rev. Stasia Fine and the Rev. Dr. Leonard Ranson. Family will greet friends from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home. Entombment: Linwood Mausoleum, Cedar Rapids, with military honors.

Survivors include his wife, Nancy; four sons, Rod (Mary) Wise of Mount Vernon, Mike Wise of Sacramento, Calif., Tim (Jean) Wise of Cedar Rapids and Doug (Candy) Wise of Glendale, Ariz.; two daughters, Wendy (Kevin) Belt of Forest View, Ill., and Amy Brown of Cedar Rapids; 13 grandchildren, Lynn Boland, Jeremy and Nick Brown, Brett Reece, Lindsey Henderson, Josh, Brandon, Luke, Zach, Jennifer, Andrew, Kevin and Karley Wise; 10 great-grandchildren, Bryce, Ashly, Haley, Alexis, Brooke, Hannah and Lala Boland, Olivia, Qwinton and Meleah Henderson; one brother, Melvin Wise of Sun City, Ariz.; four sisters-in-law, June, Liz, Julie and Dorothy Wise, all of Cedar Rapids; former wife, Joan (Jerry) Markwell of Hiawatha; and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; four sisters, Phyllis (Herman) Wennermark, Thelma (Charles) Humphreys, Evelyn (Richard) Humphreys and infant sister, Ruth Wise; and four brothers, Leland, Manuel, Leonard and Lawrence Wise.

Artie was born Dec. 6, 1930, in Athol, S.D., son of John I. and Luella (Myers) Wise. He was a lifelong resident of Cedar Rapids, moving to Cedar Rapids in 1932, and graduating from Roosevelt High School in 1950. After graduation, he began working at Iowa Manufacturing until he enlisted in the United States Army, serving from July 1951 until July 1953. While in the service, Artie was stationed at Colorado Springs as a medic. Upon his discharge, he returned to work at Iowa Manufacturing, retiring after 43 years.

Artie was an athlete throughout high school excelling in baseball, track and cross country. His athletic career continued throughout his adult life where he was inducted into the Iowa Softball Hall of Fame in 2000. When not playing sports, Artie was an avid Jefferson High School, Iowa Hawkeyes and Yankees fan, always attending family members sporting events. Artie had many friends and always shared his gift of humor with them and will be missed and remembered by all.

Please sign the online guest book for Artie at under obituaries.

Published in The Gazette July 24, 2012.