Dr. Ira Max Deal

Dr. Ira Max Deal, 95, of Starbuck, MN, a former longtime optometrist in Mt. Pleasant, IA, passed away Thursday, December 17, 2015 at the Bethany Community Care Center in Alexandria, MN. A visitation will be held Saturday, April 16th from 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. at the Olson-Powell Memorial Chapel. A memorial service will follow at 10:00 a.m. with Rev. Becky Worner officiating. Military rites will be accorded at the service by the Henry County Honor Guard. Inurnment will be in the Forest Home Cemetery. Memorials should be directed to the First United Methodist Church or the Mt. Pleasant Golf and Country Club for the tree planting project. Ira Max Deal was born on November 8, 1920, on a Prairie Township farm near Milton, Iowa. He was the third of six children born to Ira Lincoln Deal and Cecil Gay McBratney Deal. Max attended Craven Point School in Milton and graduated in 1939 from Bloomfield, Iowa High School. Max worked at Fents Drug Store in Bloomfield Iowa and became interested in pharmacy. He attended pre-pharmacy classes at the University of Iowa in 1940-41. When Pearl Harbor was attacked, he left school and moved to St. Louis, MO where his future wife Margaret had a government job. He worked in a drug store there and waited to be drafted. Max married Margaret Ellenberger on June 14, 1942 at the Ellenberger farm just outside Bloomfield, Iowa. That same night they rode the train all night to get back to St. Louis and their respective jobs. His number came up and he was drafted on October 24, 1942. He reported to Great Lakes Naval Base for boot camp, and was trained as a pharmacists mate. In those days the US Marines used Navy Corpsmen, as they had none of their own. Serving with the Marines, Max shipped out from the Marine Corps Depot in San Diego, CA to Pearl Harbor for about three months, then traveled with a Marine Transport Squadron in the Pacific Theatre - Gilbert Islands, Marshall Islands, Kwajalein, Saipan, and other locations as the US moved its war effort toward the Japanese mainland. Max was eventually sent back to San Diego where he was honorably discharged on October 27, 1945. In his 1939 Ford, Max and Margaret traveled back to Iowa, where he decided to focus on a career in optometry because his experience flying triage in noisy transport planes had compromised his hearing, and he wanted a career working close enough to his patients to hear them clearly. He enrolled in the Illinois College of Optometry in 1946, graduating in 1949. He bought an optometric practice in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa and continued to provide service to his patients for over 40 years. He and his family enjoyed summer vacations to lakes in Minnesota, and in later years winter vacations on Floridas Atlantic coast. Max was a 50+ year Kiwanis member in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa; served as President of the Iowa Optometric Association and was a member of the Starbuck VFW Club. He enjoyed an honor flight trip to Washington D.C. in 2006, and was a private airplane pilot for many years. He enjoyed golf and fishing. Max died on Thursday, December 17, 2015 at the Ecumen Bethany Community Care Center in Alexandria, Minnesota. He lived to the age of 95 years. Dr. Deal is survived by daughter: Nancy (Bruce) Bakewell of Starbuck, MN; son: Dennis Max (Anne Morgan) Deal of New Smyrna Beach, FL; granddaughter: Suzanne (Eric) Sorensen of St. Paul, MN; three sisters: Betty Johnson of Fairfield, IA, Shirley (Bill) Hamersley of Bloomfield, IA and Charlene (Dale) Hartman of West Des Moines, IA; two step-grandchildren: Suzi Kay (Myron) Lee of Williston, ND and Jason (Katie) Bakewell of Fortuna, ND; four step-great-grandchildren: Jaclyn Lee, Evan Bakewell, Walker Lee and Kasha Bakewell and numerous nieces, nephews and their families. Max was preceded in death by his parents; wife: Margaret; daughter: Mary E. Deal; brother: C. Freddy Deal and sister: Virginia Daniels. Cemetery Details Forest Home Cemetery South Walnut Street Mt. Pleasant, IA, 52641 Family will be present APR 16. 09:00 AM - 10:00 AM Olson-Powell Memorial Chapel 709 Mapleleaf Drive Mt Pleasant, IA, US, 52641 olsonpowell@lisco.com Memorial Service APR 16. 10:00 AM Olson-Powell Memorial Chapel 709 Mapleleaf Drive Mt Pleasant, IA, US, 52641 olsonpowell@lisco.com