Services
Obituary
Albert J. (Doc) Kollasch, 75, died at the Belmond Health Care Center on November 11, 2016 after a long struggle with Parkinson’s disease.
A memorial gathering was held on Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016 in the social hall at the Belmond United Methodist Church.
The University of Iowa College of Medicine acknowledges with grateful appreciation the generous contribution Dr. Kollasch has made to the advancement of medical science and the welfare of mankind.
Born in Bancroft in December 1940 to Albert (Bert) and Sylvia (Nurre) Kollasch, Al was the second of eight children. After completing high school at St. John’s in Bancroft, and two years of college at St. Mary’s in Winona, MN, he joined the Jesuit order for ten years, including seven years of training and three years teaching philosophy at Creighton University in Omaha. After he left the Jesuits in 1970, he entered the University of Iowa Medical College in Iowa City where he earned his MD and engaged in family practice residency for three years.
Al began his medical career in Belmond in 1978, and remained a physician there until his retirement in 2006. During those years Dr. Kollasch saved lives, delivered many babies, and devoted himself to the good of the community, both in his practice and outside of it. He participated regularly in Iowa River Players as an actor and stage hand. He was very involved in the Belmond Historical Society and the Belmond Arts Council and associated activities including the Power Show. As a member of Trees Forever and the Parks Board, Doc played a key role in developing the trail through Belmond, the Outdoor Classroom, and he created several prairie reconstructions in the area. He organized and took care of the community gardens for a number of years until his health interfered. Al loved gardening and growing African violets, and over the years he shared his produce and flowers with many friends. He was a prolific acrylic painter, and leaves a legacy of a wide variety of paintings with family and friends, and the Belmond art museum.
Doctor Kollasch is survived by his seven siblings and their children: David and Jean Kollasch of Madison, WI and sons Robert, Thomas, Michael, Anthony and Benjamin; Joseph and Marilyn Kollasch of Ames and sons Jonathon and Jeffrey; Mary Lou and Barry Burke of Lexington, MA and son Paul and daughter Karen; William and Angela Kollasch of Santa Fe, NM and sons Edward, George and Dominic; Kathy Kollasch and Sharon Morgan of McMinnville, OR and sons Tucker and Chris, and daughter Erin; Peter Kollasch and Tricia Knox of Iowa City and son Saeed; and Sylvia and Jeffrey Reed of Fond du Lac, WI and son Daniel.