DUNKER, R. Bruce 1938 - 2018
DUNKER, DEPUE, WYATT, SHIVERS, BOSWELL
Posted By: Pat Ludeke (email)
Date: 12/24/2018 at 17:36:44
Dr. R. Bruce Dunker
MASON CITY - Dr. R. Bruce Dunker, 80, of Mason City, IA, died Sunday, January 28, 2018, at Mercy Medical Center of North Iowa, surrounded by his wife of 57 years and other family members. Memorial services will be held at 2:00 PM on Saturday, February 17, 2018, at First Presbyterian Church, 100 S. Pierce St. with Rev. Paul Collier officiating. Visitation will take place February 16, 2018, from 5:00 to 7:00 PM at Major Erickson Funeral Home, 111 N Pennsylvania Ave. Inurnment will take place at a later date in Chapel Hill Gardens Cemetery in Des Moines, IA. In lieu of flowers memorials may be directed to the First Presbyterian Church, 100 S. Pierce St. or Hospice of North Iowa, 232 2nd St SE. Online condolences may be left for the family at www.majorericksonfuneralhome.com
Bruce was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, the oldest son of Richard William Dunker and Rowena Elsie DePue. He grew up in Des Moines and graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1956. He received a BS from Drake University in 1960 and attended medical school at the University of Iowa as part of the Senior Medical School Program. Upon graduation, he served in the US Army in hospitals in San Francisco, CA, Lawton, OK, San Antonio, TX, and Stuttgart, Germany. Bruce and Judy met at Drake and were married on June 25, 1961. She was by his side at each of his military assignments and the two took advantage of the time to visit many of the farthest reaches of the world. A lifetime of travels took them to six continents.
A long practicing North Iowa OB/GYN, Bruce leaves a beautiful legacy—having delivered more than 10,000 babies (and one puppy) over the course of an illustrious career. In addition to being passionate about medicine, Bruce was a dedicated family man who loved international and U.S. travel, riding RAGBRAI, golf, a great meal and conversation, and most of all playing cards with as many people, and as often, as possible. He was often the winner (and always in pursuit of) the family Liverpool Rummy and Cribbage trophies. That competitive spirit is part of what kept him battling through numerous health issues in recent years.
Bruce joined the Park Clinic in Mason City in 1973 which later became part of the Mercy Clinic System. He taught and practiced OB/GYN medicine until his retirement in 2000. He and Judy, a nurse, spent a number of their post-retirement years serving on medical missions in the Marshall Islands as part of Mercy International. Bruce also gave his time and energy to Boy Scouts, Salvation Army, the Lions Clubs, and many hospital committees.
Feeling the absence of his presence most, are wife Judy (Wyatt) Dunker, four children Lisa (Gregg) Shivers, White Stone, VA., Tyler (Jessica) Dunker, Des Moines, Jill Boswell, Santa Rosa Beach, Fl. and Stephen (Ava) Dunker, Wilmington, NC, as well as 11 grandchildren, a brother Brian (Coleen) Dunker of Des Moines and a niece and nephew.
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North Iowa's Dr. Dunker, who delivered 10,000 babies, remembered as being kind, innovative
MASON CITY --- Dr. Bruce Dunker is being remembered as a kind, pleasant man who delivered 10,000 babies in his long career. Dunker, a longtime Mason City obstetrician, died Sunday, Jan. 28, at Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa. His memorial service is 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 17, at First Presbyterian Church. Visitation is 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 16, at Major Erickson Funeral Home.
"I remember Bruce to be a true gentleman — kind and gracious to his staff and partners," said Dr. Michael Faust with Mercy Obstetrics & Gynecology Clinic. "He was well-read in his specialty, ready to lend a hand or knowledge to me when I was a younger partner, but also humbly accepting of help when he requested it from me. After retirement, he always had a kind greeting for me, and took time to remember my family with his words."
Dr. Bruce Trimble knew Dunker for 44 years. "We both came to Mason City in 1973," Trimble said. "We found we had some unusual things in common. We both have the same first two names — Richard Bruce — and we both went by 'Bruce'."
Trimble mentioned another unusual connection. "He delivered his son one night and delivered our daughter the next night," he said.
"He was a very pleasant man," Trimble said. "He had a reassuring kind of persona that comforted his patients."
Trimble said counting the time Dunker was in the military, he is credited with delivering 10,000 babies in his career. Dr. John Justin, a pediatrician, was on the staff with Dunker at the Park Clinic downtown.
"He was very pleasant," Justin said. "The patients liked him. He contributed a lot of new things to the clinic. He was one of the younger ones. The younger you are, the more new ideas and new techniques you have."
Justin said Dunker played a key role when North Iowa Medical Center, now the Mercy West Campus site, opened. "When it opened, Dr. Dunker was the main person to set up the obstetrics department which was a very important job," Justin said.
Dr. Walt Bate first got to know Dunker when Bate was an emergency room doctor. He said ER doctors often have to call in other doctors to treat specific conditions, sometimes in the middle of the night. Dunker always responded respectfully, he said.
"Bruce was always cooperative and supportive. I thoroughly enjoyed him. I don't remember a time when he wasn't pleasant, always happy to see you," Bate said.
Dr. Gene Kuehn said Dunker was a friendly doctor whose patients really liked him. "When I first got to know him, I invited him to go on a camping trip to the Boundary Waters and that's when we really got to know each other better.
"He was a very friendly man and he was very well-read professionally and in Christian literature," said Kuehn.
In 1999, Dunker, who had been retired for only three months, and his wife, Judy, a nurse, accepted a medical mission to the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Together, they provided diagnostic and primary care for people living in extreme poverty, including some who lived in boxcars.
In a 2000 Globe Gazette interview after their return to the U.S., Dunker talked about the challenges of constantly treating people with diarrhea and also handing out hundreds of bars of Dial soap. It was difficult work but Dunker saw it as a mission.
"We'd go back," he said in the interview. "We're already talking about it."
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