Obituary of Steven A. Dawson

Steven “Steve” Allen Dawson, 73, of Iowa City passed away on the evening of July 21 at Mercy Hospital Hospice Care in Iowa City after a brief and merciless battle with brain cancer. He fought hard, enduring unrelenting pain, so he could have more time with his family and friends. He passed quietly, surrounded by his loved ones. Steve was born in Iowa City, IA on June 9, 1943 to Rose B. (Reiland) and Thomas B. Dawson. He attended school at Lone Tree #1 and the Catholic School in Hills as a boy. A move to Keota while Steve was in Junior High led to meeting his future wife Karen-although they had to be content with just eating lunch together until they were old enough to date. Steve enjoyed track and football in high school, earning many ribbons and making All-Conference and All-State as a lineman before graduating in 1963. Always determined about what he wanted, Steve outlasted Karen’s father’s attempts to scare him off and he and Karen Rae Hotchkiss were married in Kinross, Iowa on October 24, 1964. After a few years, they settled in Iowa City. In 1977, he started his own business, Action Sewer & Septic Services, which is now run by his son Mark. Steve also spent many years coaching his sons’ Iowa City Boys Baseball teams. He truly enjoyed it and was always so excited at the start of each new season. Every year he would come home after the first practice and tell Karen he was pretty sure that his new team was going to be even better than the last one. Considering that he led his teams to five straight Babe Ruth American League Championships, we are pretty sure he knew what he was talking about. Steve was a hardworking man, and if he started a project there was no resting until it was done. He loved being a husband, father, and grandfather. He was always thinking outside the box, especially when it came to gifts for his grandkids or projects around the house. Over the years he passionately pursued a wide variety of interests—everything from gardening, hunting, camping, running, reading, genealogies and walnut growing to roasting coffee. Some things never change, and Steve’s dislike of roosters, squirrels and crowds never wavered. His love of fishing, on the other hand, grew and grew over the years. It started as a boy, fishing with his brothers, continued on a jon boat in Kirksville with his new bride, and led to excursions to the backwoods of Canada. He shared the trips to Canada with many family and friends over the years-due in no small part to his excitement to show it to others and his relentless pursuit of new travel partners to share the experience. In recent years, he and Karen were also able to enjoy several special trips, both together and with family and friends. Steve was preceded in death by his father Thomas Dawson, mother Rose Dawson Gingerich, brother William Dawson, and step-father Ned Gingerich. Steve is survived by his wife Karen; three sons, Mark (Alicia) Dawson of Iowa City, Brad Dawson of Cedar Rapids, and Scot (Ginger) Dawson of Louisville, KY; six grandchildren, Aubree, Davis, Cale, and Bram Dawson of Iowa City, and Jaci and Joli Loughran-Dawson of Iowa City; three siblings, Tom Dawson of Evansville, IN, Barb (Dawson) Riggan of Washington, IA, James Gingerich of West Chester, IA, as well as lots of loving and rowdy nieces and nephews. A celebration of life will be held Tuesday, July 26 at 11:00 AM at the Gay & Ciha Funeral Service in Iowa City. Visitation will be on Monday from 4:00 to 7:00 PM at the funeral home. Interment will be a private family service at North Scott Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Iowa City Hospice or to glioblastoma research at www.defeatgbm.org.