Dr. John M. Syverud

A memorial service for Dr. John “Doc” Syverud, 98, of Pleasant Valley, Iowa, will be at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 22 at Trinity Cathedral, 121 West 12th Street, Davenport, Iowa. The family will greet friends Thursday from 3:00 p.m. until the service begins.  A private burial will take place in the Columbarium in the Garth at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral. Halligan-McCabe-DeVries Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements.

Dr. Syverud died peacefully at his home on June 2, 2023.

John Mercer Syverud was born on February 12, 1925 in Davenport, Iowa, the oldest son of Arndt Lincoln (A.L.) and Ruth (Mercer) Syverud. He graduated from Davenport Central High School in 1942. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Iowa in 1945.   He graduated from the University of Iowa Medical School in 1955, serving his general surgery internship and residency at St. Luke’s Hospital in Denver and his plastic surgery residency at the University of California Los Angeles.  John did a fellowship in plastic and reconstructive surgery with Tord Skoog in Uppsala, Sweden, Austria and England. He returned to Davenport in the fall of 1961 and established his medical practice.  He was a devoted surgeon who loved his work and the people he met and had no desire to retire.

He married Betty Cutler on January 17, 1959 in Fort Morgan, Colorado.  They met in the operating room in Denver where Betty was an operating room nurse at St. Luke’s Hospital . They shared 53 adventurous years together until her death on June 18, 2012.

John’s two big passions in life were his family and outdoor adventures.  Family was not limited to biological offspring but all the friends and children of friends who shared his passion. He was happiest when he combined both, which he frequently did.  From a very young age he loved his time canoeing and backpacking in the Northwoods of Minnesota and Canada in the Boundary Waters Wilderness and the Quetico National Park, climbing the rocks of Wisconsin, Illinois, Wyoming and California, skiing any slope with snow on it and exploring the wilds of Iowa rivers and forests.  He instilled this love of the outdoors with his family and friends and fought hard to protect and preserve our wild places.

Doc also loved his tractor and yard work and never shied away from hard work and the tough jobs where a different kind of professional should have been called in.  He loved a good conversation and meeting new people and spending time with friends debating politics or environmental policy.

Those left to honor John’s memory include his children Ingrid (David) Bourke, Alpine Meadows, California and Eric (Wendy) Syverud, Riverdale, Iowa; grandchildren Eric and Andrew Bourke and John, Alexander and Olivia Syverud.

John was preceded in death by his son, John Mercer Syverud, his wife, Betty Syverud, his brother, Samuel Syverud and his parents.

Our most heartfelt thanks goes to Aida Thompson, who was John’s loving and devoted caregiver for the past year and a half.

Memorials may be made to Friends of the Boundary Waters,  2550 University Ave. W. 180S, St. Paul, MN 55114 Memorial Giving Friends of the Boundary Waters, The Nature Conservancy, Attn: Treasury, 4245 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 100, Arlington, VA 22203  TNC Memorial Giving, LEAP (Life Enhancement Assoc. for People), LEAP Global Missions, 7777 Forest Lane Suite, B326 Dallas, TX 75230 LEAP Missions Memorial Giving, or a charity of your choice.