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Dr. David Belgum, 84, of Iowa City
Obituaries · April 13, 2007
Dr. David Belgum, 84, of Iowa City, died Thursday, April 12, 2007 at Oaknoll Retirement Residence of complications from a heart attack.
Funeral services to celebrate David’s life will be held Monday, April 16 at 11:30 a.m. at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Iowa City, with Rev. Karl Koch officiating. Visitation will begin at 10 a.m. at the church, where Sunday parking will apply from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Memorials may be directed to the Clinical Pastoral Education Program at UIHC c/o the University of Iowa Foundation.Arrangements are with Lensing Funeral and Cremation Service.
David was born Dec. 22, 1922 in Glenwood, Minn. He received his B.A. in Sociology from the University of Minnesota in 1944, and his B.D. in 1946 from Northwestern Lutheran Theological Seminary. He received his Ph.D. in Psychology of Religion from Boston University in 1952 and completed Clinical Pastoral Education training at the University of Michigan. He married Kathie Geigenmueller on Aug. 8, 1953 at Christ Lutheran Church in Monroe, Mich.
After receiving his Ph.D., David worked as a child therapist at Ypsilanti State Hospital in Ypsilanti, Mich., from 1952-53. Following this he taught at Wittenberg College and Hamma Divinity School in Springfield, Ohio, for two years. He then moved to Minneapolis to teach at Northwestern Lutheran Seminary. While there he initiated teaching programs in clinical pastoral education at the University of Minnesota Hospital and Minneapolis General Hospital. In 1964 he was invited to join the faculty at the University of Iowa to establish a similar program at University of Iowa Hosptials and Clinics (UIHC) and to teach psychology of religion in the school of religion. He also had an appointment at the college of medicine, where he taught courses on medical ethics and most notably, on death and dying, and on stigma. He served as director of the clinical pastoral education program at UIHC from 1964-1987. He retired from the University of Iowa in 1987 as professor emeritus. Following his retirement, he served as the pastor of Bethany Lutheran Church in West Branch until 1994.
Throughout the years, David traveled to China, Pakistan, Mexico, Iceland and Papua New Guinea to study cultural approaches to medical treatment. He was instrumental in establishing the annual memorial service at Oakland Cemetery, which is held in memory of those who donated their body to science. He authored 32 books and booklets, including most recently, “Dealing with Death, Dying, and Mourning,” which was published in 2006. He edited “Living with Parkinson’s Disease,” which will be published this year.
In addition to his pastoral and professorial work, David was a passionate gardener and “gentleman farmer” of 40 acres southwest of Iowa City. In 1998, he and Kathie donated the property (“Belgum Grove”) to the Johnson County Heritage Trust for purposes of conservation and education. In 1976, he began a six-year stint as mayor (“Iowa’s only Socialist mayor”) of University Heights. He also served on numerous boards and committees and was a member of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church.
Survivors include his wife, Kathie, and their three children, Karl and his wife Veronique Musquar and their children, Chloe and Nicolas of San Francisco, Kurt and his wife Gretchen and their children, Erik and Kate of Atlanta, and Kit and her husband Forrest Novy and their children, Morgan and Mariah of Austin, Texas; and his sister, Dorothy Belgum Knight of St. Paul, Minn. He was preceded in death by two brothers, Harald and Joseph.
Online condolences and memories may be shared at www.lensingfuneral.com.
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