Devore E. Killip (95) of Iowa City, Iowa

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Published on May 29 2020 9:47 am

Devore E. Killip, 95, of Iowa City, IA passed away Tuesday May 26, 2020 at Prairie Meadows Assisted Living in Omaha, NE.

Burial and a family grave-side service will be at Farina Cemetery in Farina, IL. Memorial donations may be made to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (www.bcrf.org). Online condolences may be expressed by clicking here

Devore was born July 21, 1924 in Roberts, IL to Wilfred and Myrtle Killip. He graduated from the school of dentistry at the University of Illinois Chicago and married Pearl Lillian Jarand on July 21, 1946. Together they had six children. His family recall his great love of the western wilderness no doubt instilled by a cross country road trip with his grandparents in 1936 when he was 11 years old. Camping each night in a car pulled trailer, Devore kept a daily journal chronicling their visits to the Garden of the Gods, Yellowstone Park, the Rocky Mountains, the Pacific coast, WA, MT, SD, and ID. Devore served in the United States Army during World War II and later, during the Korean conflict, as a dental officer in Fort Riley, Kansas. He also served in the Army Reserve and Iowa National Guard, commanding the 109th Army National Guard Medical Battalion. During his tenure in the Army he won numerous medals for his outstanding pistol marksmanship. Devore set up his first dental practice in Chatsworth, IL. Recalled to the Army, he moved his family to Fort Riley. Following this period of service, the family moved to Missoula, Montana, where he set up his dental practice. He was able to indulge his passion for hunting and gunsmithing, creating hand-built rifles with engravings inlaid with precious metals. In 1960, the family returned to Chatsworth where he resumed his dental practice. Moving to Iowa City in 1966, Devore became a full professor of Dental Education at the University of Iowa. He retired in 1989. His children fondly recall many camping and hunting trips and an endless supply of wild game in the freezer.

He is survived by his four sons, Jarard (Cindy) of Omaha, NE, John (Marnie) of Ankeny, IA, Mark of Bozeman, MT and Scott of Iowa City, IA; and two daughters, Kay Ganser (Walter Schutte) of Chicago, IL and Donna Killip of Charleston, SC; 13 grandchildren and 9 greatgrandchildren.

He was predeceased by his parents, his wife, Pearl, and a sister, Marjorie Gullet.