Thursday, April 10, 2014

I was very sorry to learn of the death of Paul Seltz of Clive, a good friend of mine for more than five decades. Paul was a strong Christian and a man I got to know at Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Des Moines. Indeed, he and his wife, Millie, were proxy Godparents at the baptism of our second son, Mark, at Mount Olive Lutheran when winter road conditions prevented two relatives from making the trip from Cedar Rapids to Des Moines in 1961. A son-in-law of Paul and Millie Seltz is Tim McClelland of West Des Moines, who is regarded as the best umpire in major league baseball.

Here is Paul Seltz's obituary, courtesy of Hamilton Funeral Homes:

Paul H. Seltz

Paul Herman Seltz, age 92, passed away on the 7th day of April 2014.

He was born on October 28, 1921 in McIntosh, MN to the Rev. Paul J. and Regina Nibbe Seltz.

Paul graduated from Humboldt High School, St. Paul, MN in 1940. He attended the University of Minnesota and St. Paul College of Law.

Paul served in the U.S. Army as a Special Forces Ranger from 1943-1946 and was discharged as a 1st Lieutenant in the infantry. His military service included time as an instructor and in the South Pacific theatre, primarily in the Philippine Islands.

In 1947, he married Mildred “Millie” DeHaan in St. Paul, MN. In 1948, they moved to Des Moines, IA. They were blessed with four children: Paul F. "Rusty" (Dee) Seltz of St. Paul. MN, Kathy Lantz of Chesterfield, MO, Karen Seltz of Windsor Heights, IA and Sandy (Tim) McClelland of West Des Moines, IA. They have enjoyed five grandchildren: Justin (Meghan) Lone of Old Saybrook, CT, Sara (Steve) Gresh of Galena, OH, Cole McClelland of Kansas City, MO, Molly McClelland of West Des Moines, IA and Maggie McClelland of West Des Moines, IA. Additionally, they have one great-grandchild, Hudson Paul Gresh.

Paul is survived by three siblings: Rolland (Murt) Seltz of St. Paul, MN, Douglas (Evelyn) Seltz of Mosinee, WI and Mary (John) Hendrickson-Krogman of Cupertino, CA. His sister, Eunice Lawrenz-Smith, and brother, Richard Seltz preceded him into the Kingdom of God.

While a gifted athlete and businessman, Paul retired as President and Board Chairman of National Travelers Life Insurance Company of Des Moines. Paul prided himself on his work on behalf of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, particularly their education and outreach programs.

In the early 60's, Paul was proud to be instrumental in the establishment of a Christian Day School at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Des Moines. At Mt Olive, he also served as congregational president and was a member of the Board of Elders. Paul served for 9 years on the Board of Directors at Concordia University, St. Paul, MN and twelve years on the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod Foundation Board in St. Louis. He most recently served on the "Alive in Christ" committee of the Iowa District West of the LCMS, to raise funds to start new congregations in the district. He established scholarship endowments at Concordia University in St. Paul and at Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, IN.

Paul had many interests. He enjoyed reading; golf and baseball were his passion and he also enjoyed most other sports. He found great enjoyment in keeping up with his grandchildren, their activities, families and career paths.

Visitation will be Sunday, April 13 from 2-6 PM and Monday, April 14 from 10-10:45 AM at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, 8301 Aurora Ave. in Urbandale. The Funeral Service will be Monday at 11 AM at Gloria Dei. A private interment will be held at Iowa Veterans Cemetery in Van Meter, IA.

Memorials may be sent to The Seltz Family Endowment Fund at Concordia University, 275 Syndicate St. N., St. Paul, MN 55104 or Hospice Care of Central Iowa, 401 Railroad Pl., West Des Moines, IA 50265.

Hamilton's on Westown Parkway is handling the arrangements. Online condolences may be left for the family at: www.HamiltonsFuneralHome.com.

JOLTIN' JOE GOT IT STARTED

When Ron Maly was a kid in Cedar Rapids, he wanted to enter an essay contest, and he did. He wrote about Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees being his favorite baseball player. For finishing second in the contest, Ron won a Louisville Slugger baseball bat autographed by DiMaggio. Ron later wanted to be the first person in his family to attend college, and he was. He earned a degree in political science from the University of Iowa, and did what all political science majors do. He became a sportswriter. He had, after all, covered high school football, basketball and baseball games for the Cedar Rapids Gazette while he worked parttime during his university days. Ron wanted to sit in the press box and write about an Iowa-Minnesota football game, and he did. It happened while he was the sports editor at the Albert Lea [Minn.] Tribune, and the game was at Memorial Stadium in Minneapolis. Ron wanted to cover a World Series, and he did. Also when he was working for the Albert Lea newspaper. Ron wanted to cover Rose Bowls, Sugar Bowls, Orange Bowls, Cotton Bowls, Holiday Bowls, a Freedom Bowl, a Sun Bowl, a Super Bowl and NCAA basketball tournaments, and he did those things after he moved to Des Moines. Ron was a four-time sportswriter of the Year in the state of Iowa [the years were 1977, 1978, 1994 and 1996]. In 2006, he was named a charter member of the University of Iowa's media Wall of Fame in the Kinnick Stadium press box. A photo of the plaque that's displayed in the press box is displayed above this story. Following Ron's retirement from the newspaper business, a publisher asked him if he wanted to write a book about the rich football tradition at the University of Iowa, and he did. The hardback version of "Tales from the Iowa Sidelines" was a best-seller, and so was the revised, softback version. Now he's been asked by his publisher to update the book for a second time. He's in the process of doing that at the present time. Ron considers being asked to update a best-selling book for the second time to be the supreme compliment, considering the Hawkeyes won just four games in the 2012 season. When Ron isn't working on books, he's busy traveling and spending time with his family. Indeed, he attends the athletic, theatrical and musical [both vocal and instrumental] events in which his six grandchildren participate. He also writes about anything that interests him for his many websites. Every chance he gets, Ron proudly wears his America Needs Farmers T-shirt.

The Hawkeyes' Rich Football Tradition, Revisited

I mentioned a while back that I was in the process of updating my Tales from the Iowa Sidelines book. Updating it for the second time. The original hardback edition of Tales from the Iowa Sidelines [pictured at the right] was published in 2003, during the 10-3 season, when coach Kirk Ferentz and his Iowa football team had a 10-3 record that included a 37-17 victory over 15th-ranked Florida in the Outback Bowl and after the Hawkeyes went 11-2 in 2002. That book was a best-seller, so the publishers came to me again in 2005, a season that finished with a breathtaking 30-25 victory over No. 11 Louisiana State in the Capital One Bowl on New Year's Day, 2005. Because buyers had cleaned out the the shelves in the bookstores, the publishers wanted to know if I'd do an updated version of the book. I agreed, The revised, soft-cover edition [pictured at the left] was published in 2005. Warren Holloway, who teamed with quarterback Drew Tate on a miraculous 56-yard touchdown pass to win the Capital One Bowl, was featured on the cover. That book, too, turned into a best-seller, So I had reason to feel very good about my years as a published author. It's not every day that a the original version is a best-seller, and so is the updated version. Then, imagine my surprise when I received an e-mail from a senior editor at the publishing company last fall, wanting wanted to know if I was interested in doing a second updated version of the book. It came at a time when things weren't going well for the Hawkeyes in the 2012 season. They lost their last six games and finished with a 4-8 record. Frankly, the thought of doing a revised edition of the book during a 4-8 season seemed to be a stretch. "Maybe producing a revised edition in a year or two would be a better idea," I told the publishers. "We'd like to do it now," I was told. "Let me think about it," I said. After a few days of thought, I accepted the idea. I talked myself into the idea that this was the supreme compliment--being asked to do a second book update during a 4-8 season showed strong confidence by the publishers in me and in the Hawkeyes' football program. So I got back into the business of interviewing players and coaches again, going to postgame press conferences, weekly press conferences and a scrimmage in West Des Moines. After a press conference in Iowa City, I did a one-on-one interview with coach Kirk Ferentz, and mentioned to him that I was in the process of doing a revised edition of my two best-selling books. I congratulated him on the excellent things he had done for Iowa's football program--all of which contributed to the success of my books. "I think Coach Fry had more to do with it," he told me, bringing up the name of Hayden Fry, his one-time boss at Iowa and a man who brought Iowa's football program back from the dead in the 20th century. That's modest Kirk Ferentz for you. Even though the 2012 season wasn't something Hawkeye coaches, players and fans will recall with any special feeling, Ferentz has a 14-year record of 100-74 at Iowa that includes two 11-victory seasons [2002 smd 2009], two 10-victory seasons [2003 and 2004], plus he's been the Big Ten coach of year in 2002, 2004 and 2009, and national coach of the year in 2002. Indeed, Ferentz has done some wonderful things at Iowa City, and I fully expect his success to continue. I've concluded my writing for the second update of Tales from the Iowa Sidelines, and the senior editor has furnished me with an early look at the book. Not only are the Kirk Ferentz years included in the updated version, but so is the stuff I previously wrote about Howard Jones, Dr. Eddie Anderson, Heisman Trophy winner Nile Kinnick and the 1939 Hawkeye Ironmen, Ronald Reagan, Ozzie Simmons, Ossie Solem, Randy Duncan, Alex Karras and lots of other legends from Iowa's rich football history. I expect the book to be in stores soon. I hope you like it.