Glendon D. Button M.D.

Glendon D. Button, MD

Ames

Glendon Dale Button, MD, 83, died on September 25, 2015 at Heartwood House of Northcrest Community in Ames. A celebration of life service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, October 3 at Ames First Christian Church with visitation starting at 10 a.m. and a lunch following the service. Also, a graveside service will be held at 3 p.m. in Grundy County at Sheller Cemetery north of Ivester Church of the Brethren.

Glendon was born August 1, 1932 to Glen and Dora Smith Button at their farm home in Grundy County. He attended a one-room country school through eighth grade, and, after graduating in 1950 from Eldora High School, went to McPherson College in Kansas to study industrial arts with plans to go into education.

His life took a turn after his junior year of college when, due to the draft, he volunteered as a conscientious objector for national service. He was sent to Germany and Austria through a Church of the Brethren volunteer program and worked two years helping to resettle Eastern European refugees and working with Heifer Project (now known as Heifer International) in the distribution of livestock to refugee farmers.

During his years in Europe, Glendon met Wanda Will, another Church of the Brethren volunteer, who was working with a high school student exchange program in Germany. After completing his degree at McPherson College, they were married on June 2, 1956.

Their first home was in Iowa City where Glendon attended the University of Iowa College of Medicine, receiving his MD degree in 1960. After a general medicine internship at Mercy Hospital in Cedar Rapids, Glendon practiced for two years in Kingsley with Robert Powell, MD. In 1963 the family moved to Conrad, Iowa, where he joined Robert K. Patterson, MD in practice and served on the medical staff of Marshalltown Medical and Surgical Center until his retirement in 1998. Others with whom he worked were Dohn Kruschwitz, MD, David Cathcart, MD, Randy Sevcik, MD, and Norma Sogge, PA. Long time staff were Helen Eckerman, Fran Blackburn and David Leonard.

Glendon served as a McPherson College trustee from 1970-1987 and was honored by the college "for outstanding service to his profession, community, church, and college." In 1987 Glendon was also honored by the Conrad Chamber of Commerce "for his years of dedicated service to the Conrad Community."

Glendon and Wanda established and nurtured a loving family of five children: Cosette (Louis) Scallon, Timothy (Mary Jane) Button-Harrison, David Button, Karin (Jeffrey) Thill, Susanne Button; eight grandchildren: Levi Thill (Elizabeth Lyons), Megan and Rachel Button, Greg, Ben, and Nick Scallon, Sam and Hannah Button-Harrison; and a great granddaughter Zia Marie Lyons. Also surviving are a brother, Gary (Caryl) Button, and a sister, Jean (Marvin) Heikens.

Seeking to follow the way of Jesus was at the heart of Glendon's life. He was a life-long member of the Church of the Brethren, serving the church as moderator, deacon, steward, teacher, and in many other ways. He loved the out of doors. He was an artist, gardener, planter of hundreds of trees, rock collector, camper, hiker, canoer…He used his industrial arts skills to design the Conrad family house, to build furniture, to help a son build a house, and to fix whatever needed repairing.

Through the seasons and places of his life, in the aftermath of World War II, in his medical work with the sick and injured, and as he planted trees and cared for the land, wherever Glendon found brokenness, he worked to mend and heal and repair.

Memorial gifts may be given to Heifer International. Condolences and photos may be shared at www.adamssoderstrum.com