Jerry Dean King

Jerald Dean King (Jerry aka “Doc”), 87, passed away May 3rd after a brief illness. He was born to Fred (Bus) and Alice (Shoemaker) King on June 19, 1937.

Jerry grew up in Hartford and graduated from Hartford High School in 1955, with a dream to become a doctor. He was offered resistance by some who believed that dream to be too challenging. Education and family were equally very important to Jerry. He married his high school sweetheart, Joy McAninch, on November 21, 1956, and had four children, Sue, Shelly, Steve & Shawn. After 30 years of marriage, they divorced in 1986.

With encouragement from his young family and determined to make his dream a reality, Jerry began taking pre-med night classes at Drake, while working at Western Electric and as a cryptology communications tech for the Iowa Air National Guard. He attended the University of Iowa Medical School, graduating with his M.D. in 1970 and completed his internship at Broadlawns in Des Moines, before setting up a long and valued practice in Nevada, Iowa. He was board certified by the American Academy of Family Physicians and a lifetime member.

After retiring in 1994, he and his companion, Dixie Philips, moved to Russell and then Swan, Iowa. He spent a lot of time with his life-long friends. He prized jokes and was always ready with one when he encountered a friend. An avid animal lover, Jerry had many pets along the road of his life: cats, dogs, a guinea pig, even a skunk – and he treated each as his treasured fur-kid.

His love for music and the arts would begin in grade school when he sold Christmas cards to pay for his first instrument, a trumpet. He taught himself how to play guitar, performed in a dance band and painted landscapes. Jerry had numerous hobbies, including collecting and playing music, cooking, genealogy, bird watching, recording CDs/DVDs and watching Iowa and Iowa State games.

Jerry will be deeply missed by his family: daughters Sue (Bob) Sandvold and Shelly Fisher; sons Steve (Melissa) King and Shawn King; grandchildren Laura (Gary) Hagler, Matt (Chloe) Sandvold, Emily (Josh) Borwick, Lily King, Ethan King, Connor King, and Jillian King; and great grandchildren Abby Willardson, Dustin Hagler, Amber Hagler, Logan Hagler, Sage Borwick, and Benny Borwick; sister Ruth Friedman; nephew Kevin (JoAnn) King; as well as other nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by: his parents Fred and Alice King, brother Donald, sister Nancy, companion Dixie Philips, and grandson Ryan Fisher.

Doc always believed it wasn’t who you know but what you know. He knew best the love he had for learning, for his family and for his friends. And that love will be greatly missed.

Services to celebrate Jerry’s life will be held at Peterson Funeral Home in Carlisle on Monday, May 12th. Visitation will be from 12:00-2:00 PM. Funeral services will begin at 2:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Jerry’s name to the Animal Rescue League of Iowa (arl-iowa.org) and local libraries.