Obituary of Evert E. Switzer

Evert E. Switzer, age 80 of 646 S. Lucas Street, Iowa City died Tuesday, September 16, 2003, at Mercy Hospital in Iowa City. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Friday, September 19, 2003, at Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service in Iowa City with the Reverend Paul Akin officiating. Burial with military honors will be at Memory Gardens Cemetery in Iowa City. Visitation will be from 4 to 7pm Thursday at the funeral home where Masonic Memorial Services will be held at 7pm. Following the services at the cemetery, everyone is invited to join the family for a time of fellowship and lunch at the First United Methodist Church in Iowa City. The Sunday parking ordinance will be in effect for both Jefferson and Dubuque Streets. Online condolences may be sent for Evert’s family through our website @www.gayandciha.com. Evert Earl Switzer was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, April 26, 1923, to Ervin and Elizabeth (Burk) Switzer. In 1926 the family moved to Iowa City to 810 Highland Ave. Evert attended Longfellow School, Central Junior High, and Iowa City High School. He also played football at City High for a while. He was a Golden Gloves Champion in Iowa City for a short time. He was employed by John Deere in the Quad Cities prior to his enlistment in the United States Army, January 12, 1943. Following basic training in Alabama, his first assignment was to the 37th Chemical Unit at Dugway Proving Grounds, near Salt Lake City, Utah. His overseas service was in the 116th Cavalry Unit (a mechanized reconnaissance unit) where he served as a point man for 91 missions. He earned several medals, and received the 7th Army Commendation "For Exceptinally Meritorious Conduct in the Performance of Military Duty". Following his discharge November 21, 1945, as a sergeant, he returned to Iowa City. Evert joined Iowa Illinois Gas and Electric July, 1946 as a service man and was appointed as Customer Service Supervisor in 1967, retiring in 1985. He served in many Masonic offices. He is Past Master of William Reynolds Lodge #667, Past High Priest of the Royal Arch Masons of Iowa City, Past Grand Master of the Third Veil of the Royal Arch Masons of Iowa, Past Patron of Jessamine Chaper # 135 of the Order of the Eastern Star of Iowa. He is also a member of Clarksville Lodge #668, The York Rite Bodies, Iowa City No. 2 RAM, Swafford Council No. 28 R&SM, and Palestine Commandry No. 2 KT, Kaaba Shrine of Davenport, the Iowa City Shrine Club, and the Scottish Rite Consistory. Evert married Ruth M. Brown on February 23, 1957 at the Methodist Church in Kahoka, Missouri. Prior to this he was married to Laurene Conklin. His family includes his wife, Ruth; daughters, Judith Ann Randall and her husband, Jerry, Carolyn Kay Switzer, Sydney Ruth Switzer, and Suzanne M.S. Erenberger and her husband, Joel; son, Stephen Evert Switzer and his wife, Pam; grandchildren, Scott, Philip, and Jason Randall, James Switzer, Katie and Sarah Chapman. He was preceded in death by his parents, a brother, and three sisters. Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service is caring for Evert’s family and his services.