Obituary: Dr. David L. Pence, D.V.M

May 30, 2012 — 

Dr. David L. Pence, D.V.M., 64, of Ankeny, fought the good fight against Acute Myeloid Leukemia, MK+. David had been at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN since December 6, 2011, and came home to live out his last days on April 9, 2012. While at Mayo he received such wonderful care, especially from Dr. Patnaik, Dr. Singh, and their entire medical team. He passed away on Saturday, May 12 at his home surrounded by his loving family. The funeral was held at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 517 SW Des Moines St., Ankeny, on Sunday, May 20.

David was born May 21, 1947, to Dora M. (Stover) and Melvin E. Pence, Sr. in Eldora, Iowa. On September 2, 1967, he married his high school sweetheart, Cheryl A. King at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Eldora, Iowa. Dr. Pence served 3 ½ years as a Staff Sergeant in the US Army Vet Corp stationed at Ft. Snelling, MN, and received his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine at Iowa State University, Ames in 1976. For 25 years, he was a large and small animal veterinarian throughout Eastern Iowa and for 9 years was the State Veterinarian at the Dubuque Greyhound Park. He also did relief work for various veterinary clinics across Iowa. In 2001, he moved to Ankeny to work for the USDA as a Veterinary Medical Officer. He was a member of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, the IVMA, AASV, AABP, and AVMA.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made to the David L. Pence Memorial Fund at any U.S. Bank branch. Online condolences can be sent to http://www.PenceFH.com