Obituary

Maureen (Canavan) Rittgers

Maureen (Canavan) Rittgers, longtime Gowrie area resident, passed away on Sunday, June 29, 2025 at the Greene County Medical Center in Jefferson, Iowa. She was born at St Joseph Mercy Hospital in Fort Dodge on November 21, 1936 to Patrick and Geraldine (Jack) Canavan. Maureen grew up on her family’s farm near Paton with her four siblings. She graduated from Paton High School in 1954 and attended Loretto Heights College in Denver, CO where she played on one of the first women’s college basketball teams. 

 In 1955 she married her husband Dick Rittgers and together they raised a busy family of five children on their family farm south of Gowrie. Maureen’s deep love for her family, farm, food, her Catholic faith, and Irish heritage was always evident. She was at her best when feeding family friends and farm workers, hosting nieces and nephews from Texas, California and Des Moines, and when attending the many music programs, sporting events, and extra-curricular activities her children and grandchildren participated in over the years. She took great pride in several Paton and Gowrie organizations and functions she was part of, always looking forward to time with her many friends in both communities. Maureen was a member of St John’s Catholic Church in Paton as well as Our Lady of Good Counsel in Moorland and St. Columbkille in Churdan, where she taught catechism for many years. For her entire life she was an avid reader; always looking for the next great historical book, biography or novel. Her love of reading was one of the many passions she passed on to her children. During their retirement years Maureen and Dick travelled extensively and enjoyed spending winters in Destin, Florida with the many friends they met at their condo. 

Maureen is survived by her children: Brian (Pat) Rittgers, Zionsville, Indiana, Veronica (Scott) Morton, Jefferson, Mark Rittgers, Gowrie, Rick (Jaci) Rittgers, Gowrie, and Chris (Gloria) Rittgers, Islamabad, Pakistan; 11 grandchildren, 10 plus great-grandchildren and many nieces, nephews, and cousins. 

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband Dick of 57 years, and siblings: Colleen Scanlon, Geraldine Duff, Jim Canavan and Pat Canavan. 

A visitation was held on Saturday, July 5 at St. Joseph Church in Jefferson from 9:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m., followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 a.m., with Father William Schreiber officiating. A luncheon was served immediately following the service at the St. Joseph Parish Center. Interment took place immediately after the luncheon in the Gowrie Township Cemetery. Memorial contributions in Maureen’s name could be made to the Gowrie Public Library or the Gowrie Freedom Trail.

David L. Mills, 79, passed away Wednesday, June 25, 2025 at Trinity Regional Medical Center, Fort Dodge.

Funeral services were held 10:00 a.m. Monday, June 30, 2025 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1426 North 32nd Street Fort Dodge, with Bishop Peterson officiating. Graveside followed at 1:00 p.m. Monday at Paton Township Cemetery. A visitation was held from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Sunday, June 29, 2025 at Laufersweiler’s Palmer & Sons Funeral Home, Gowrie.

David is survived by his wife Donna, son Andrew of Gowrie, grandsons Harrison (Olivia) Mills, Riley Mills, Griffin Mills, great-granddaughter Lola Rae Mills, brother Doug Mills of Tulsa, OK, daughter-in-law Sherilyn Mills, and other relatives and friends.

He was preceded in death by his son Robert Mills, parents Gerald and Bertha (Jones) Mills, sisters Claudia Freeland and Ruthie Glaser.

David LeRoy Mills was born November 13, 1945 in Oakland, California. He was raised and educated in Oakland and graduated from Fremont High School in 1964. After high school, David joined the United States Air Force. On September 17, 1966 David was united in marriage to Donna Harrison and the couple first lived in Omaha. For the 20 years that David served, the couple lived in many places, but the majority of the time was in the Orient. After David’s retirement from the Air Force he worked for the federal government in Kennewick, WA from 1988 to 2008. In 2008, Donna and David made Gowrie their home. David enjoyed woodworking. David was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Farnhamville American Legion Post 510, and the American Legion Riders.

Memorials may be left to the discretion of the family.

Jill E. Viles (Dopf)

Jill E. Viles (Dopf) passed peacefully at home in Gowrie, Iowa on June 12, 2025, surrounded by her husband, their son, and her mother.

Visitation will be at Laufersweiler Palmer & Sons Funeral Home in Gowrie on Saturday, June 28th from 2-5pm. A celebration of life service will be held at Gowrie United Methodist Church on Sunday, June 29th at 2pm.

Jill is survived by her husband of twenty years - Jeremy Viles, their son Martin Viles, and many relatives in Des Moines: Mother, Mary Dopf; sister, Janet Albanese (Patrick); brother, Robert Dopf; sister, Elizabeth Brand; as well as cousins, nieces, and nephews.

Born November 10th, 1974 in Des Moines to Robert Charles Dopf and Mary Sue Crain - Jill was the first of five children. Her childhood was filled with love and laughter and the antics of the siblings who loved to play with Cabbage Patch kids and pretend to be adults living in the “Dopf Apts.” Her best friend since kindergarten - Suzy Robinett (Schneckloth) - was usually by her side. They were confirmed together at Windsor Heights Lutheran Church and she remained a dedicated Christian throughout her life.

Jill pursued a Bachelor’s degree at Drake and Iowa State University in the field of biology/genetics. She dove into scientific clinical literature and self-diagnosed herself and her father with Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy (EDMD). When expert US physicians did not agree with her diagnosis, she collaborated with geneticists in Italy and elsewhere in Europe to determine the genetic basis of EDMD and confirm her own diagnosis.

Having solved the genetics mystery of her own condition, Jill was excited to pursue her passion for writing and earned a Master’s degree in Creative Writing from Iowa State University. She tought english at DMACC and other community colleges.

She met the love of her life, Jeremy, in 2003 and they married in 2005. Due to potential complications from EDMD, having a child put her health at risk, but being a mother was her dream. After Jill gave birth to Martin in 2006, her family with Jeremy was complete. They moved to Gowrie later that year where Jill wrote for the Gowrie News and worked as a substitute teacher at the high school. For much of his childhood, Jill would be seen traveling around town on her scooter with Martin on her lap. Gowrie remains an amazing community for the Viles family.

A highlight of Jill’s summers was attending the University of Iowa Summer Writer’s Festival with her mom. She enjoyed taking a variety of classes, developing deep bonds with fellow writers, and going to Prairie Lights Bookstore. During several summers, she was so proud that her son Martin was able to come and take part in the Blank Summer Institute - part of the Belin-Blank Center at the University of Iowa. Jill was also involved in several local book clubs.

While raising her son, Jill pursued research into muscular dystrophy and she made a remarkable genetic connection between herself and Priscilla Lopes-Schliep, an Olympic medalist, that likely saved Priscilla’s life. The story of Jill and Priscilla titled “Something Only I can See” has aired repeatedly on This American Life radio program on NPR.

Jill’s latest accomplishment was writing Manufacturing My Miracle, a story which chronicles the events of her life - which will be published by Bloomsbury Publishing in July 2025. Having her story published was one of her proudest achievements, and she had looked forward to giving book readings in July 2025. In this book, Jill shares captivating chapters about her search for answers and meaning in the world of genetic research with compelling and heartfelt stories.

Jill spent much of her time connecting people with EDMD and other rare diseases, researching, and writing. The most important thing to Jill was being a wonderful wife to her beloved husband, Jeremy, and an incredible mom to their son, Martin. She was ridiculously successful!

In lieu of flowers, a memorial contribution can be made to the University of Iowa’s Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Genetics to support the next generation of genetic researchers: U of Iowa Genetics Programhttps://goldrush.uiowa.edu/celebrating-50-years-for-the-ui-genetics-graduate-program