John Robert Bothell

John R. Bothell went peacefully to meet his savior on Sunday, February 23, 2025 at the age of 79. He dealt with Parkinson's Disease for over 10 years and most recently was challenged by COPD and the consequence of strokes.
John was born January 23, 1946 to Floyd & Barb Bothell. He grew up on the family farm, east of Iowa City, and graduated from West Liberty High School in 1964.
John and wife Shirley (Villhauer) were married in 1978. Their children are Brianne (Ken), Tony (Alicia) and Jonathan (Emily) who blessed them with grandchildren Ainsley, Allie, Zoe, Addison, Jonah and Ellie.
John worked in men's clothing at Redwood & Ross in Iowa City, where he became quite the dapper dresser. Later he went to a store in Detroit, MI but city life and dealing with the public was not for this farm boy at heart. John returned to Iowa, and for most of his life he farmed with his dad. He also worked at Chatham Oaks in Iowa City and retired from there in 2011.
Regina was John's home-away-from-home as the kids went through for their education, spanning 21 years. He served on the Foundation Board and was active with athletics where he watched every sport, worked many a fund-raising event for the "Battered Boosters," mowed the fields, and could be seen at the fence edge along the sidelines at football games.
John loved his Regals, was a die-hard Cubs fan, and yes even "da Bears!" He enjoyed his time with The Friday Night Group, Tuesday lunch bunch and spending time with friends.
John and Shirley were part of the St. Mary's marriage preparation program for many years, working primarily with couples of differing religions. In 2019, John joined the Catholic faith and the St. Mary's of Iowa City parish.
Our family would like to thank all the medical teams and staff who cared for John at UIHC, and Dr. Todd Ajax at Washington County Hospital who was his neurologist throughout his Parkinson's journey. We also thank Iowa City Hospice and the Bird House for the peace they provided John in his last days, as well as the Lensing Funeral Home staff for their guidance in planning John's celebration of life. And to St. Mary's of Iowa City – staff and parishioners - who welcomed John into the church, nourished his faith and that of our family.
John was preceded in death by his parents, brother Denny, brothers-in-law Bob Thompson, Keith Anderson, Dale Villhauer and sister Linda Foor.
In addition to his wife and children, John is survived by his sisters Susan Anderson (George Kondora) and Lori Lux of Iowa City; brothers-in-law Bob Foor of Muscatine IA; Steve Villhauer (Niki) and Keith Villhauer (Kim) of Iowa City IA; sisters-in-law Jean Villhauer of Tomah, WI, Marsha Anderson of Kalona IA, Karen Michalec of Cedar Rapids, IA, Jan Robertson and Julie Strabala (John) of Riverside IA.
Funeral mass will be Friday, February 28, 2025 at 10:00 AM at St. Mary Catholic Church in Iowa City. Visitation will be from 4:00-6:00 PM at Lensing Funeral Home in Iowa City on Thursday, February 27, 2025 with a time of sharing to follow.
Charitable contributions may be made to the Regina Foundation, Iowa City Hospice, or the Bird House of Johnson County.