John Morgan Wanamaker was born September 27, 1931. He was the only child of Dr. Ambrose Roy Wanamaker and Frances Azile (Reeves) Wanamaker. He grew up on tree-lined Argyle Street in Hamburg, Iowa. His playmates were his cousins, who lived across the street. They spent time roller skating, riding bikes and staying outside playing till dark.

ln 1943, he lived for short periods of time in Salt Lake City, Utah, Boulder City, Nevada, and Los Angeles, California, with his father and mother while his father was enlisted in the U.S. Army Medical Corps in WW II. When Major Wanamaker was deployed overseas, John and his mother returned to Hamburg where he finished his education in the Hamburg school system participating in various activities and sports. He had the lead in both junior and senior plays. During that time, he was an avid hunter, fisherman and trapper, and began his lifelong quest to master the game of golf (which he jokingly said he never attained). The friendships John made in high school were among the closest he ever had. He was spokesman for his 50-year class at the Hamburg Alumni Banquet in 1999.

After graduating from high school in 1949, John enrolled at the University of Iowa, quickly becoming an ardent Hawkeye fan. He rarely missed a home football or basketball game over the course of eight years in Iowa City. He pledged Delta Upsilon fraternity and was a member of the freshman track team. Many close friendships were begun there with some lasting long after graduation and a few up until his death. He obtained his B.A. degree in pre-med in 1953 followed by an admittance into the College of Medicine as a member of a class of 118 boys and 2 girls.

ln September of 1952, he married Nancy Ann Luhrs, daughter of Harold and Virginia Luhrs of Rock Port, Missouri. The couple’s first two children, Brooke and Jill, were born while John was in medical school. John graduated in 1957, which he always said was due to “hard work rather than brains.” He was then accepted for an internship at Presbyterian Hospital in Denver, Colorado. Their third child, Kent, was born there in 1958. Following that year of internship, John completed a year of general practice residency training at Broadlawns Hospital in Des Moines, Iowa.

John began his medical practice in Rock Port in December 1959 and continued there for 30 years. It was just long enough, as he often said, “to see just about everything.” He and his colleagues were small-town general practitioners who routinely made house calls and charged $3.00 (“if you had it”) for an office visit. He served a term as county coroner and a term as mayor of the city. He was a leader of the Rock Port Community Betterment organization and received a Governor’s Leadership Award in 1963.

John and Nancy were divorced in 1980. He married Karen lreland in September of 1989, retiring from medical practice and returning to Hamburg that same month. There he began his second profession: managing the farmland owned by his family. When his aunt, Jean Good, died in 1990 they moved to her home where he had hiked, hunted and explored since he was seven years old. He and Karen lived there until Karen’s death in September of 2014.

During his years in Hamburg as an adult, John became actively interested in conservation. He restored his 400 acre prairie, bluff, and timberland property in the Loess Hills to a pristine condition. He spent many hours removing invasive species and old fences from the property, conducting controlled burns, planting native trees and establishing a bluebird trail. He reportedly fledged over 950 bluebirds in his 25 years on the farm. John eventually donated the Loess Hills property to the lowa Natural Heritage Foundation to be preserved as a Wildlife Preservation Area. He received a Hamburg Community Leadership Award in 2012 and an Iowa Conservation Award from the governor at the state capitol in 2015.

Some of John’s other interests included golf (eventually becoming the oldest active player at his club), hunting, distance running (5,000 and 10,000 meters), traveling, reading (never without working on at least one book), collecting and writing about Big Band music, photography, and genealogy. He compiled several books of his photographs and a three-volume family history. He traced the four lines of the Wannemacher/Wanamaker family line back many generations to 15th century Germany.

A highlight of each year for John was the lndependence Day family gathering at the farm or at the family cottage at Lake Okoboji in northwest Iowa, especially when all five of his grandsons could be there together.

In 2017, John moved to Edgewater in West Des Moines. He involved himself in a number of activities and groups in Edgewater, and always enjoyed playing poker and participating in world affairs discussions. He made many friends there and was even reunited with one of his fraternity brothers and friend of 70 years, with whom he remained close to the end of his life.

John Morgan Wanamaker died on February 19, 2024, in Des Moines. He is survived by all three children, five grandsons, and one great-granddaughter. He will be greatly missed.

A family graveside service will be held in the spring in Hamburg. Online condolences may be left at www.desmoinescremation.com.