Shaffer, Richard A. 'Dick'

Richard A. “Dick” Shaffer 78, of Iowa City, died Sunday, May 5, 2013, of cancer at Lantern Park Nursing and Rehab Center in Coralville. Memorial services will be 1 p.m. Friday, May 10, at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Iowa City. Burial will be in Oakland Cemetery.

Online condolences may be sent for his family through the Web at www.gayandciha.com.

Richard A. Shaffer was born Oct. 28, 1934, in Warsaw, Ind., the son of George and Dortha (Phillips) Shaffer. Following graduation from Warsaw High School in 1953, he enlisted and served in the United States Navy. In 1961, he graduated from Elkhart University as a medical laboratory technician. He began a long career as a research assistant in pharmacology at the University of Iowa. He became an innovative surgeon, miniaturizing a Doppler flow probe and traveling to Russia to share his surgical techniques. Dick married Marcia D. Van Dyke on April 7, 1963, at the Congregational Church in Iowa City.

Dick served as a scoutmaster for many years for Coralville's Troop 207, positively affecting the lives of hundreds of young boys. His scouting adventures included canoe trips down the Current and St. Croix rivers, and backpacking trips through Colorado and to the historic Philmont Scout Ranch.

As a man who loved the outdoors he became an avid bird watcher in his later years, traveling with his wife to Costa Rica and Ecuador and many birding spots in the United States. He had a gift for photography, and recorded their adventures on film. In addition to his outside activities in his church he was involved in the Stephens Ministries and touched many lives.

His family includes his wife, Marcia; two sons, Greg and his wife, Michelle, of Iowa City and Brad and his wife, Shelly, of Celebration, Fla.; three grandsons, Bryan, Jacob and Andy; one great-granddaughter, Lylah; his three sisters, Barbara (Lavon) Harman and Sue Gunter, both of Warsaw, Ind., and Carol (Jack) Clark of Syracuse, Ind.; and many nieces and nephews.

Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service is caring for Dick's family and his service.

Memorials may be made to Hospice of Iowa City.

Published May 9, 2013 in The Gazette