David Dancer

David Dancer
Member of the Iowa House of Representatives from the 6th district
In office 14 January 1935 – 10 January 1943
Preceded by	Walter Osborn
Succeeded by	Roy B. Hawkins
Personal details
Born	David Anderson Dancer (1896-10-07)7 October 1896 Lamoni, Iowa, United States
Died	11 October 1982(1982-10-11) (aged 86) Sun City, Arizona, United States
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Florence Messerli ​ (m. 1917)​
Alma mater	Graceland University University of Washington University of Iowa
Occupation	farmer

David Anderson Dancer (7 October 1896 – 11 October 1982) was an American politician.

Personal life and early career

Born in Lamoni, Iowa, on 7 October 1896, Dancer attended school in his hometown, and enrolled at Graceland College and the University of Washington before graduating from the University of Iowa in 1917.[1][2] He served in the United States Army with the rank of first lieutenant for twenty two months during World War I.[1][2] After he ended his military service, Dancer returned to Iowa in 1919 as a farmer, serving on the board of directors for the Farmers Grain and Seed Company, as president of the Decatur Farm Bureau and chairman of the board of the Lamoni Cooperative Creamery Association.[1][2]

David Dancer married Florence Messerli, a native of West Union, Iowa, on 17 November 1917.[1][2] He died on 11 October 1982, in Sun City, Arizona.[1][2]

Public service career

Dancer served ten years on the Lamoni City Council before winning four consecutive terms as a Republican Party legislator of the Iowa House of Representatives for District 6 between 14 January 1935 and 10 January 1943.[1] During the 48th Iowa General Assembly from 1939 to 1941, he contested the house speakership, and lost.[3] During his final term as a state representative, Dancer was speaker pro tempore.[1] Dancer subsequently ran in the 1942 Republican party primary for the position of Secretary of Agriculture of Iowa.[3] Following the loss in the primary, Dancer was appointed secretary of the Iowa Board of Regents from 1942,[3] and stepped down from the position by 1968.[1][2]

Legacy

The University of Iowa named Dancer the recipient of its 1964 Distinguished Service Award,[1] acknowledging "...the broad span of the years of his service to the people of Iowa," and his "...rare trilogy of strengths; tenaciousness, an infinite patience, a selflessness remarkable by any measure."[4] His tenure as secretary of the Iowa Board of Regents was also commemorated by Iowa State University's inaugural Honorary Alumni Award in 1968,[5] and the University of Northern Iowa's dedication of Dancer Hall, a residence hall constructed between 1967 and 1969.[6][7]

References

1. "Representative David A. Dancer". Iowa General Assembly. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
2. "David A. Dancer". University of Northern Iowa Special Collections and University Archives. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
3. "Still in state service". Postville Herald. 22 July 1942. Retrieved 9 November 2023. Rep. David A. Dancer of Decatur county who was a candidate for the speakership in the last legislature and an unsuccessful, candidate for state secretary of agriculture in the recent primary election on the Republican ticket, has received appointment as secretary of the stale board of education, succeeding Merrill R. Pierson, now business manager of Michigan State College.
4. "Distinguished Alumni Award". University of Iowa. Retrieved 9 November 2023. Alternate URL
5. "All-time Honorary Alumni Award recipients". Iowa State University Alumni Association. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
6. "Towers Complex--Bender Hall and Dancer Hall". University of Northern Iowa Special Collections and University Archives. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
7. "Dancer Hall". University of Northern Iowa Housing. Retrieved 9 November 2023.