Richard William Dolan, age 79 of Casey, IA, passed away on August 10 at the Stuart Community Care Center in Stuart, IA from pancreatic cancer.
Richard Dolan was born January 16, 1944, in Stuart, Iowa. He was the third of four children of Mart and Grace Miller Dolan. He attended county school in Casey, where he walked 1.5 miles each way. Adair and Casey consolidated schools when Rich was a freshman in high school. He graduated from Adair-Casey High School in 1962, where he served as class president. He attended Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Missouri and joined the National Guard in 1969. He married Pamela Alicia Krause on August 5, 1967. They had three children, Brett, Kelly and Trish. After a long battle with cancer, Pam passed away on December 13, 1997.
Rich made farming his lifelong career. His grandparents, John and Minnie Dolan, bought the Dolan farm in Casey in 1895. The house was built in 1912 and his parents, Mart and Grace, moved into the house in 1948 when Rich was 4 years old. Rich took over the family farm in 1967. Over the years he purchased additional farmland and built a successful farming operation, all starting with the family century farm. He was proud to farm with his nephew Mike Dolan and brother Don Dolan for many years. He loved driving around and watching his crops grow. Harvest was always a special time of the year. He lived in the Dolan house through July 2023 for a total of 75 years.
Rich was an active member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church and rarely missed a Saturday evening mass. He was one of the original members of the 5×80 Country Club, joining in 1965 at the age of 21. He once had a hole in one on hole number 7 and is the longest standing member at the 5×80. As a youth he participated in 4-H and continued as a 4-H leader where he enjoyed working with his children to get their cattle, hogs, dogs and cats ready for the Adair County Fair. Rich was an Adair County Supervisor between 1999 and 2009. One of his favorite tasks was helping to get the new county jail built in Greenfield.
His favorite past time included anything sports related. This started at a young age when he had a job setting pins at the bowling alley in Adair. His interests included league bowling, hunting, fishing, golfing and playing cards. He especially loved watching baseball – high school, college and major league baseball. His TV always had some kind of sporting event playing. Most of the time that included his Los Angeles Dodgers, Green Bay Packers and Iowa Hawkeyes. He enjoyed going to the Masters Tournament and Florida spring training (combined with a shuttle launch) with his son Brett and the World Series in 2001 with Brett and brother Don. Richard always had a competitive nature, which trickled down to his children and grandchildren.
He was proud of his Irish heritage. In 2011 he even traveled to the homeland, County Mayo in Ireland with his nephew Mike Dolan and nieces Deanna Hughes and Jackie Hokuf. They also took in the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Dublin and were interviewed on Irish TV.
Rich had a keen sense of humor, which he kept to the very end. He was famous for throwing zingers at those he loved. If you got a punch in the arm or were given an insult, it was a term of endearment. Many knew Rich by his nickname, Hocus. There are varying stories on how he got this name. One comes because he often threw batting practice to Brett’s high school baseball team and his pitches between his legs and behind his back involved some Hocus Pocus trickery. This nickname was so well known that you could send a letter through the U.S. Mail addressed only to Hocus, Casey, Iowa, and it would be received.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Pamela; parents Mart and Grace Dolan; his father-in-law and mother-in-law Walter and Patricia Krause, brother Donald Dolan and step-grandson Alex Konz. Richard was a loving husband, father, and grandfather.
He is survived by his son Brett Dolan and wife Betsy Dolan of Houston, Texas, daughter Kelly Konz and husband Jim Konz of Clive, Iowa and daughter Trish Dolan of Chicago, Illinois; grandson William Dolan of Dallas, Texas; granddaughter Kathleen Dolan of Houston, Texas; step-grandson Jack Konz of Des Moines, Iowa; sister-in-law Marilyn Dolan, brother John Dolan and wife Dalene Dolan and sister Helen Anderson and husband Jim Anderson, as well as numerous nieces, nephews and friends. He will be missed by many.
Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 AM on Wednesday, August 16, 2023, at St. John’s Catholic Church in Adair, Iowa with Fr. Ken Gross officiating. Burial will follow in the St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Casey, IA. Visitation with the family present will be held from 6 pm till 8 pm at the Schmidt Family Funeral Home in Adair, IA. Memorials can be made in his name and left or mailed to the funeral home at P.O. Box 523 – Atlantic, IA 50022 and will be designated at a later date.
The family of Richard Dolan wishes to express their gratitude for all acts of kindness shown to them in their time of sorrow. This includes all the calls, visits, food deliveries, lawn mowing, transportation to the doctor’s office and much more. We invite you to join us for a luncheon at the 5×80 Golf and Country Club in Menlo immediately following the services. Arrangements are in the care of the Schmidt Family Funeral Home in Adair, IA.
