Dr. Willard Haldy

DR. WILLARD FRED HALDY Traer Dr. Willard Fred Haldy, D.D.S, 91, of Traer, passed away Sunday, April 17, 2022, at UnityPoint Health-Allen Memorial Hospital in Waterloo due to a sudden illness. Visitation will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, April 22, at St. Luke Evangelical Lutheran Church in Traer. Funeral services will be held at noon Saturday, April 23, at the church with the Rev. Benjamin Baker officiating. Interment will be held at 3:30 p.m. Saturday April 23, at Cedar Memorial Park Cemetery in Cedar Rapids. Dr. Willard Fred Haldy was born May 11, 1930, to Fred and Marie (Kraus) Haldy of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Willard graduated from Roosevelt High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, (1948). After high school, he enlisted in the United States Navy as a seabee and served in the Philippines and the Aleutian Islands during the Korean War. After his honorable discharge in 1952, he attended Coe College, where he met the love of his life and future wife, Maurita (Blencoe) Haldy. After their marriage on Aug. 11, 1956, Willard enrolled in the University of Iowa College of Dentistry. While Willard attended dental school, Maurita taught third grade at Horace Mann Elementary in Iowa City, Iowa. After earning his doctorate in 1959, he and Maurita settled in Traer, Iowa, and he opened his own dental practice. Willard would serve as the town dentist for 57 years before his retirement in 2016. Willard had the privilege of serving as the dentist for some Traer families across four generations. Willard's interests and skills were so diverse that many would call him the last of the Renaissance men. He owned and farmed his own small farm of 80 acres. He was fluent in German, having been raised by German parents and from the time during his childhood spent in the Amana Colonies. He loved to endeavor on large scale hobby projects such as the refinishing his 16-foot sailboat, redoing his prized 1929 Model A Ford, and helping renovate the Traer Theater and St. Luke Lutheran Church. All the while, still practicing dentistry full time. His hands were never idle. In his spare time, he enjoyed raising Arabian horses, chickens and exotic birds. He had an artistic eye and a natural talent for photography. He and Maurita loved to travel and their favorite place in the world was Coronado, Calif. Of the many things he enjoyed, he loved spending time with his family the most. Willard is survived by his daughter, Elizabeth Hoselton of Hudson; son, Dr. Glenn Haldy of San Diego, Calif.; two granddaughters, Natalie Hoselton of Los Angeles, Calif., and Olivia Hoselton of Chicago, Ill.; and his sister, Carol "Susie" Wilson of Cedar Rapids. He was preceded in death by his wife of 65 years, Maurita Haldy (April 11, 2022); his parents; his sister, Doris Gaddis; and his in-laws, Sidney and Margaret Blencoe. Memorials in his honor may be made to the Traer Theater and Traer Public Library. Kruse-Phillips Funeral Home, Tama-Toledo, is assisting the family with arrangements.