Alan 'Al' Stang

ALAN VICK STANG

Iowa City

Alan "Al" Vick Stang, 83, of Iowa City, Iowa, died Wednewsday, Feb. 2, 2022, at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

In addition to family and friends, the sunstones by which Al navigated included a passion for instrumental and vocal music; a dedication to serving God, country, and community; and a love of adventure, language and travel. He was particularly keen on trains and transportation timetables. He was a voracious reader, and is celebrated as well for his appreciation of good food, fine wine, and sharp logic, wit and banter.

Al was born Jan. 28, 1939, in Tacoma, Wash., the son of Alfred D. Stang and Agnes Henrietta (Vick) Stang. He graduated from West High School in Bremerton in 1956, and in 1960 from Pacific Lutheran College (now Pacific Lutheran University), Tacoma, Wash., where he majored in music education.

He attended the University of Iowa, Iowa City, in order to study the clarinet under the legendary music educator Himie Voxman. Thirty days after completing graduate school in June 1962, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He attended Officer Candidate School (OCS) in Newport, Rhode Island, and accepted an officer's commission in March 1963.

In August 1963, he married the love of his life, Sharon Kay Dolan of Grimes, Iowa, whom he had met at the University of Iowa. The couple was stationed in Long Beach, Calif., where Al was posted to the destroyer USS EDSON (DD-946). He remembered being on watch in international waters in the Pacific, listening to radio traffic as similar ships were then thought to be under attack by North Vietnamese patrol boats in the nearby Gulf of Tonkin. He would eventually complete 28 years of uniformed service, as both an active-duty and reserve sailor. He retired from the military in October 1991 at the naval rank of captain.

Al's military awards include: a Navy Unit Commendation, the National Defense Service Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, and the Armed Forces Reserve Medal with Bronze Hourglass Device.

Leaving active military service, Al returned to Iowa City and the University of Iowa to study toward his doctorate, which he completed in 1978. He was the director of bands in the Solon (Iowa) Community School District until 1984. In 1985, he began a career as a financial advisor with the former IDS Financial Services (now Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC), retiring in 2000.

Al leaves a legacy of constant service and community engagement. In addition to activism through Gloria Dei Lutheran (ELCA) Church in Iowa City, he served on many other boards and service organizations. For example, he served as a route volunteer and board member at the food rescue and distribution non-profit organization Table to Table, and as a board member on the Iowa City Public Library Friends Foundation.

Al served as director of the Eastern Iowa Brass Band (now Iowa Brass) from 1989-1991. In 1991, the group was recognized as an honor band by the Iowa Bandmasters Association. He was also a longstanding past member of the Iowa City Community Band, the Chamber Singers of Iowa City, and many local dance clubs.

He was a member of Sons of Norway Restauration Lodge 1-548, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He volunteered for many holiday tree-lot shifts during his time with the Iowa City Noon Optimist Club. Al once performed as "Papa" in the Iowa City Community Theater production of "I Remember Mama,"a role that family members joked that he was born to play.

In both his personal and activist lives, Al was a frugal shepherd of automotive blessings. Fellow volunteers at Table to Table report that he usually insisted on driving the organization's oldest van at the time, a 1998 Ford Econoline, which required him to crawl in order to fully access the food stowed in the van's cargo space. He later finally admitted that driving the van was "hard on his knees." When both he and the van had retired, he enthusiastically and directly supported the purchase of a replacement.

Al is survived by his wife, Sharon Kay (Dolan) Stang; daughter, Kristin Kay Stang and Gordon Capp of Buena Park, Calif., along with granddaughter Madeline Capp; and son, Jeffrey Alan Stang and Lisa McDaniel of Chicago, along with granddaughters Eleanor "Ellie" Stang and Evelyn Stang.

Memorial donations may be directed to: Table to Table, via table2table.org/stang/ or able2table.org/donation; The Iowa City Public Library Friends Foundation, via www.icpl.org/about/donate, or mail: 123 S. Linn St., Iowa City, IA 52240; Chamber Singers of Iowa City, via ww.icchambersingers.org/support; The Iowa City Community Band.

Memorial services are pending later in 2022, after an anticipated return to in-person gatherings full of heart, voice and song.