Obituary of Dean Wymer Andersen

Dean Wymer Andersen, 88, of Coralville, Iowa, died on Saturday, Aug 23 after a short illness. A service to honor Dean's life will be held at 9am Thursday, August 28, 2008, at the First United Methodist Church in Iowa City. (Sunday parking ordinance will be in effect) Burial will be at Walker Cemetery, Walker, Iowa at a later date. Visitation will be from 3 to 6pm Wednesday at Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service in Iowa City. Memorial donations can be made in his memory to the First United Methodist Church in Iowa City. Online condolences may be sent for his family through the web @ www.gayandciha.com. Mr. Andersen was born June 23, 1920, in Clear Lake, Iowa to Jim and Ina Andersen. He graduated from Clear Lake High School in 1936. He studied at the University of Iowa where he was active in a medical fraternity and pre-medical activities. He worked as a government inspector at the Burlington Ordinance Plant when he was drafted for World War II. He served as a medic in the Pacific Theater during World War II. In 2003 he published a memoir of his experiences titled, "Praise the Lord and Pass the Penicillin." In 2002 his service was honored with his name on the memorial stone at Veteran's Trail near Coralville, IA. He married Marie Gleason, a nurse at St. Luke's Hospital in Cedar Rapids on December 22, 1945. Dean and Marie were well-known dairy farmers in the Cedar Rapids area for 15 years. He returned to the University of Iowa in 1960 as a research assistant in the Pediatric Nutrition Department, working with Drs. Foman and Filer. Dean collaborated on research studies concerning birth defects caused by saccharin and testing the safety and efficacy of aspartame, Similac, and Isomil. He retired after 23 years with the University of Iowa College of Medicine. He was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Iowa City. He was a lifetime member of the Masonic Order, earning his 50-year pin. He was active in the Kiwanis, and co-founder of the Iowa City Gem & Mineral Club. In retirement, he led tours and spoke with school groups on plants and geology as a volunteer at the Museum of Natural History on the University of Iowa campus. He enjoyed lapidary work, finding, cutting, and polishing semi-precious stones to put into the jewelry. He taught lapidary in Iowa City and Mesa, AZ where he and his wife spent winters for 10 years. He led flower walks at the Iowa City Senior Center and near the Superstition Mountains east of Phoenix, AZ. He is survived by his wife, Marie; son, Chris Andersen of Iowa City; daughter and son-in-law, Joan and Tom Hemm of Mukilteo, WA; and two sisters. Mr. Andersen was preceded in death by his parents and brother. Mr. Andersen had requested that his body be donated for science through the University of Iowa. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Gay & Ciha Funeral Home.