Paul Eness' Obituary
If you'd like a copy of the 'Paul Memories' document, please email Dana at [email protected] and she will email it to you. Watch Paul and friends from the Parkinson's program here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqiFNkF9mMs&feature=youtu.be To view Paul's Life Video go to: https://vimeo.com/454102558 To view Paul's Funeral Service https://vimeo.com/455878068 Paul Gene Eness, 86, of Ames, Iowa, passed away in the comfort of his own home with his family by his side on August 31, 2020. As much as the family would have loved a large gathering, current circumstances limit us to a private family service to be held on Saturday, September 5, 2020 with a burial at Saint Petri Cemetery to follow. Paul was born on August 25, 1934 in Ames, Iowa to Eugene and Gerene (Peterson) Eness. Paul was a 1952 graduate of Gilbert High School and received his Bachelor's of Dairy Science from Iowa State University in 1956. He served his country by enlisting in the United States Army in 1956 and was honorably discharged in 1958. Paul married Margot Bannister at the Ames Congregational Church in 1960. He graduated with his DVM from ISU in 1963. He went into private practice for five years and returned to the ISU College of Veterinary Medicine in 1968 as a professor in Clinical Sciences. To the farmers of Central Iowa, he was Doc. To the hundreds of veterinary students he taught and mentored over 30 years, he was Dr. Eness. To his five children, he was always Paul, never Dad or Daddy. Paul woke up every day at sunrise and did his chores, tending to his sheep, cows, pigs, and chickens before heading into work at ISU. He enjoyed lecturing but he LOVED taking the senior vet students out on calls on the farms surrounding Ames. He delighted in getting to know the vet students, young men and women from all over the world, and watching them connect with each other and with the farming community. On weekends and evenings, he volunteered on the boards of Gilbert Lutheran church, Bethany Manor and the Story County Fair. For many summers he also loved working as the Iowa State Fair veterinarian. At home, his idea of down time was shearing sheep, mowing the lawn, or fixing a fence. At 50, he picked up a new hobby: running. He and Margot ran in dozens of road races and at 60, he completed his first marathon. Avid Cyclone fans, Paul and Margot were season ticket holders to both the ISU football and girls' basketball games. After he "retired," he and Margot moved to the beautiful Big Sky Ranch outside of Dayton and made new friends of his neighbors, always with sheep and cows and border collies and grandchildren all around. And they travelled--to the land of his ancestors (Norway) and Margot's (Scotland), to Ghana and to Latvia to visit one of his favorite vet students and her family. When Parkinson's Disease came to visit and wouldn't leave, Paul delighted in singing, dancing and boxing with new friends he made at the wonderful Parkinson's Disease classes provided by Dr. Stegemoller and her kinesiology students. Left to cherish Paul's memory are his wife of 60 years, Margot, and his children: Molly (Tom Birkland) Eness, Dana (Jason Wiese) Eness, Allison (Mark Taylor) Eness, Daniel (Natalie) Eness, and Jason Eness; siblings Linda Flaherty, Kirsten (Clifford) Barta, David (Debi) Eness; siblings- in-law Jack Miller, Willa (Bannister) Kulhavy, and Kay (Bannister) Philpot; grandchildren Oskar and Isaak Birkland, Sadie and Aidan Wiese, Lydia Heydlauff, Max, Grace, Ella, and Sam Eness, and Lucy Eness-Potter; countless nieces, nephews, and cousins and all of his beloved "adopted" sons and daughters. Paul is preceded in death by his parents Eugene and Gerene, his sister Janice Miller and nephew John Flaherty. Memorial contributions may be made to the Parkinson's Disease Research Fund in Kinesiology at www.neuromotorlab.com Online condolences may be directed to www.Grandonfuneralandcremationcare.com
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