Weideman, Mary

Mary Weideman passed from this world peacefully, at home, on Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012, after a 2 1/2 year struggle with colon cancer. She was surrounded by her family. A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 3:30p.m. Friday, Dec. 28, at Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service, Iowa City, with the Rev. Stephen Protzman officiating. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home. Family Committal Services will be held at Oakland Cemetery. A reception at The Kirkwood Room will follow the service.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the Iowa City Parks and Recreation Foundation.

Mary was born on Feb. 21, 1957, in Vinton, Iowa, to Dr. D.C. and Marilyn (Hansen) Weideman, the youngest of four children. Her childhood in Vinton was an adventure, camping on the sandbars of the Cedar River, sneaking out to take her Dad's late model Plymouth for a spin with her friends before she was old enough to drive and golfing on the course a block from home. In high school she excelled at sports, music and academics.

In 1979, Mary received her B.A. with Honors and High Distinction in Political Science and English and her Juris Doctorate in 1982 from the University of Iowa. After graduating from law school, she served for a year as assistant to the dean of the law school. She practiced law in Iowa City for 27 years and served as a judicial magistrate from 1995 to 2005. Mary was devoted to her clients and developed lasting friendships with many of them. Her community and professional activities included serving on the Iowa City Parks and Recreation Commission from 1985 to 1993 and on the Client Security Commission of the Iowa Supreme Court from 2004 to 2010.

Mary taught as an adjunct professor at the Henry B. Tippie College of Business at the University of Iowa from 1995 until 2010. By all accounts she was a gifted teacher. In 2010, she left private practice and began teaching full time at the Business College. Her cancer diagnosis came soon after. The inability to continue her “dream job” was one of her biggest disappointments.

In 1989, Mary and Eleanor Dilkes were “married in their hearts.” They were legally married in 2010.

Mary was a lifelong athlete, from basketball at Vinton High where she still holds the record for most points in a single game, to the four mile walk she took through Hickory Hill Park two days before she was admitted to hospice. Basketball, swimming and golf were her favorites. She never tired of playing with her two sons, whether it was shooting hoops or playing catch in the yard, chase in the house, action figures, light sabers, swimming and volleyball in her treasured pool, diving in the waves of Lake Michigan, watching “Sponge Bob Square Pants” or later “Battlestar Galactica” and “Dr. Who.” She loved books and poetry, particularly that of Walt Whitman and William Blake. She was funny and she loved to laugh. Mary knew the importance of family and friends and how to live in the moment. She loved the outdoors. Mary instilled all of this in her boys and she lives on in them.

Mary is survived by her wife, Eleanor Dilkes; their sons Ben, Grinnell College and Joey, at home; her sisters, Dr. Cathy Weideman and Nina Swanson (Carl); her brother, Don (Peggy); stepmother, Yvonne Weideman; her mother-in-law, Dorotha (“Quinn”) Dilkes; sister-in-law, Prudence Reid; nieces, Catherine Ripperger (Kris Proctor) and Janet Weimar (Jeff); nephews, Charlie (Katie), Jeff (Maggie), Danny Boyle, Matt Ripperger, Noah Swanson and Sam Reid; and many dear friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents and finds peace in their arms now.

Mary's family extends its immense gratitude to Dr. Daniel Berg, Mary's oncologist; and his nurse, Beth Schubert for their compassionate care of Mary over the last two years.

Online condolences may be sent to the family at .

Published in The Gazette Dec. 24, 2012.