Robert Engel

ROBERT ENGEL

Iowa City

After living a life full of love, passion and service, Robert E. Engel, 82, of Iowa City, passed away Sunday, Nov. 30, 2014, at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. A memorial service will be 10:30 a.m.

Wednesday, March 18, 2015, at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Iowa City, with a luncheon to follow. His body has been donated to the University of Iowa Deeded Body Program.

The son of Oliver and Maurine (Fraley) Engel, Bob was born Sept. 14, 1932, in Gladbrook, Iowa, on the back porch of the house his father built. Robert attended public schools in Gladbrook, and Portland, Ore., receiving his diploma from Glad-brook High School in 1951. That fall, Bob moved to Mount Vernon to attend Cornell College. Little did he know that this would be the beginning of a relationship with Cornell that would last 63 years, including 24 years as a member of the Board of Trustees. Bob graduated in 1955 with majors in German and history. While at Cornell, he met the love of his life, Elizabeth Seydel, whom he married on Aug. 21, 1955, in Mount Vernon. They would have celebrated 60 years of life together next August.

While a student at Cornell, Bob was being nudged towards the ministry and served as part-time pastor at Rochester United Methodist Church during his senior year. Upon commencement from Cornell, he and Beth moved to Madison, N.J., where Bob received his divinity degree from Drew University in 1958. They returned to Eastern Iowa in June 1958 and would spend the rest of their lives together living in Iowa City.

Bob served as associate pastor at First United Methodist Church for two years, then was asked in 1960 to be the founding pastor of St. Mark's United Methodist Church. During the summer of 1964, Bob was part of a delegation of ministers to travel to Mississippi to assist churches in support of integration and civil rights activities as a part of "Freedom Summer."

In 2005, Bob was awarded the Francis Asbury Award for a life of service to the higher education ministries of the United Methodist Church.

In 1965, Bob returned to school, this time to work on a Ph.D. in higher education, with a special interest in the administration, history and philosophy of higher education. He found his pastoral and counseling training to be very well suited to university administration in the late 1960s and early 1970s. After receiving his doctorate from the University of Iowa in 1969, he served for three years as assistant to University of Iowa President Willard "Sandy" Boyd. He also began his 27-year career as a professor of Higher Education – being asked once again to step away from the classroom and assist President Freedman. In addition, he was among the early board members of the Iowa City Crisis Center and also served for six years on the U of I board in control of athletics (Bob was an avid Iowa Hawkeye athletic fan).

Bob has always had a love for the arts. He was a lover of dance, music and theatre and a passionate supporter of Hancher and Riverside Theatre. A musician all of his life, in retirement, Bob was once again able to become a member of several bands and ensembles, learning to play the euphonium at the age of 65.

He loved traveling with his wife and friends to band camps during the summer, and attended 25 camps over the past 17 years. As a historian, Bob loved genealogy, spending many a family vacation rummaging around courthouse archives and searching for well-hidden cemeteries in hopes of discovering the headstone of a distant relative. He also was a world traveler, and together with Beth, he visited all seven continents.

Bob's faith in Christ was central to his life. He sought to live the gospel by helping disparate people find commonality through his work as a minister, a university administrator, a teacher, and in all areas of his life. He was a pillar to his family and a friend and helper to many.

Survivors include his wife, Beth; four sons, Jeff (Mai-Lei Chen) Engel of Macomb, Ill., and their children, Tom, Richard and Anna, Craig (Catherine Quehl-Engel) Engel of Mount Vernon and their daughter, Rachel, Bradley (Dena) Engel of Tucson, Ariz., and their children, Carter and Andrew, and Daniel Engel of Iowa City; two sisters, Mary Lee Goos of Rhode Island and Suzanne (Lock) Young of Florida; and cousin, Melissa (Gordon) Keeler of Albion.

Robert was preceded in death by his brother, James Engel.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial gift in Bob's name to the Iowa City Crisis Center, the Iowa City Shelter House, or Cornell College – or just grab a partner for a quick dance!

Online condolences may be left for the family at www.lensingfuneral.com.