Emde, John William

Our beloved husband and father, John William Emde, a longtime Iowa City resident, passed away in his home on Sunday, April 15, 2012, after an extended illness.

Mr. Emde was born on Sept. 4, 1932, on the family farm in Washington County, near Wellman. The family moved to Iowa City when he was a young man. He graduated from Iowa City High School in 1950, and was a Korean War veteran of the U.S. Navy. He married his beloved wife of 58 years, Mina Lowery on Jan. 2, 1953.

Upon graduation from the University of Iowa College of Engineering in 1961, he was employed by the University of Iowa College of Medicine, until retirement in 1990.

He is survived by his wife, Mina; sisters, Rose Brenneman and Marguerite Zook of Kalona; sons, Richard and his wife, Linda of Fresno, Calif., and Jeff and his wife, Alicia of Glendale, Ariz.; grandchildren, Kristin, Erik, Michael, Veronica and Valerie; and great-grandchildren, Cassidy, Matthew, Natalia and Maksimus.

He was preceded in death by his parents, one brother, one sister, one daughter and one great-granddaughter.

Family graveside services will be held on Saturday, April 21. A Celebration of Life will be held at the Gay & Ciha Funeral Home from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 21.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions to the charity of the donor's choice.

Online condolences may be sent for his family through the web at .

Published in The Gazette April 18, 2012.