David Ray Boylan Jr.

Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, January 28th at 10:30 a.m. at Faith Baptist Church in Cambridge, Iowa with luncheon to follow. Burial will be at 1:30 p.m. in the Ames Municipal Cemetery. A visitation will be held on Monday, January 27th, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Stevens Memorial Chapel in Ames.

David Boylan was born July 22, 1922 in Belleville, Kansas to David and Mabel (Jones) Boylan. He married Juanita Sheridan on March 24, 1944 in Kansas City, Missouri. They were blessed with four children: Sharon, Gerald, Elizabeth, and Lisa and were married for 66 years until Juanita’s death in March of 2010. He and Juanita moved to Ames in 1948 and bought a small starter home on Stafford Avenue in 1952. David built additions to the home several times over the years and it remained the family home until 2013 when David moved to Ankeny.

David graduated from the University of Kansas in 1943 with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and later continued his studies at Iowa State College, earning a Ph.D. in chemical engineering in 1952. Prior to coming to Iowa State, he held industry jobs at General Chemical Company, American Cyanamid Company, and Arlin Chemical Company, all three in New Jersey. David joined the staff of the Chemical Engineering Department at Iowa State as a half-time Assistant Professor and a half-time Researcher at the Iowa Engineering Experiment Station on campus. He became Associate Professor (1955), Professor (1956) and Associate Director of the Engineering Experiment Station (1959-1966); upon the Station’s name change to the Engineering Research Institute in 1966, he was named Director (1966-1971, 1980-1988), responsible for all research programs in the College of Engineering.

In addition to his position as Director of the Engineering Research Institute, David became the sixth Dean of the College of Engineering in 1970, serving until 1988. During this time, engineering enrollment soared and the degree progress of many students slowed as the classes they needed were often full. David instituted an enrollment management plan that reorganized the process of assigning students to oversubscribed classes, persuading the university to add 40 new engineering faculty positions. David also launched the Department of Freshman Engineering (1974) to help new engineering students get a head-start in the fundamentals of engineering; he pioneered a new computerized budgeting system for the engineering college which was later adopted by the entire university; and he founded the Marston Club to recognize major college supporters. Under his leadership, the engineering school’s enrollment doubled, the curricula expanded and research grants increased from $332,000 to over $15 million by the time he retired as dean. After stepping down as dean (1988), he returned to the faculty as Professor of Chemical Engineering and Engineering Fundamentals until his retirement (1992).

David’s major research interests were in chemical plant and fertilizer processes, leading to six patents. In addition to research, he loved instructing in the classroom and managed to maintain a full teaching schedule throughout his academic career including during his tenure as dean. Iowa State University established the David R. Boylan Eminent Faculty Award for Research in 1988, to recognize outstanding research achievements by engineering faculty and honored David as its first recipient. David served as a professional consultant for corporations including Leo A. Daly, Stanley Consultants, Kent Feeds, and The HON Company.

David was active in numerous professional organizations, including the American Chemical Society, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (Fellow 1975), the American Society of Engineering Education, American Association for the Advance of Science (Fellow 1981), the National Society of Professional Engineers (Vice President, 1986), Rotary (President, 1968-69) and was on the Board of the Creation Research Society. He was a registered Professional Engineer in the states of Iowa and Pennsylvania.

Immediately following retirement from Iowa State University, David became a faculty member of Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary in Ankeny, Iowa, where he chaired the General Education division of the college, was special counselor to the president, and also served as interim president from 1993-1994; he served on the Faith Board of Directors from 1965 and continued to serve as an emeritus member until his second retirement. David received the honorary alumnus award in recognition of his involvement with Faith. He officially retired from his teaching career at Faith in May 2016 at the age of 93, but the same man who never desired to be an educator in his early twenties was a teacher at heart and still used every opportunity he had to teach. Instead of lecturing to classrooms filled with young adults, he continued to give lectures to those in the assisted living facility where he resided.

While David had many academic achievements, his career was not his priority in life. He was a dedicated Christian and his deep faith in Jesus Christ guided him throughout his life. David and Juanita were active members of Campus Baptist Church (now Crossroad Baptist Church) for over 50 years and served there in many capacities. He faithfully taught the college Sunday school class for 25 years and impacted the lives of thousands of students. He advised young people to “know the Lord, trust the Lord and follow the Lord.” In later years, David and Juanita were members of Faith Baptist Church in Cambridge, Iowa.

David enjoyed woodworking, photography, electronics and car repair, drawing and traveling. He enjoyed going out to eat, spending time with family, and having conversations. He was immensely proud of his children and grandchildren. He was a friendly, happy man, quick with a smile or a quip and always kind, gracious, generous, personable, engaging, patient, and humble. He was a respected and faithful leader at church, work, and in the community. He was a recipient of the Paul Harris Fellow award, a prestigious Rotary honor that recognizes individuals who exemplify Rotary’s ideal of “service above self” through their contributions.

He is survived by two daughters, Elizabeth (Murray) McKee of Carlise, Iowa and Lisa (Kevin) Powell of Walford, Iowa; one sister-in-law, Marjorie Short of Yorba Linda, California, one daughter-in-law, Vonny Boylan of Jakarta, Indonesia; five grandchildren, Joshua (Summer) Hähnlen, Anne-Christie, known as Peggy, (Ray) Boylan-Ashraf, Matthew (Missy) McKee, Heather (Tim) Brown, and Collin Powell as well as three great grandchildren, three nieces and one nephew.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Juanita Boylan; a daughter, Sharon Hähnlen, a son-in-law, Lee Hähnlen; his son, Gerald (Jerry) Boylan; a granddaughter, Amanda Hähnlen; his sister, Alice Banks, and two brothers-in-law, Herb Banks and Harold Short.

Memorials may be sent to Iowa State University, College of Engineering, 4100 Marston Hall, 533 Morrill Road, Ames, IA 50011, Faith Baptist Bible College, 1900 Northwest 4th St., Ankeny Iowa 50023, Faith Baptist Church, 401 2nd St., Cambridge, Iowa 50046 or the Creation Research Society, 1 W Firestorm Way, #145, Glendale, AZ 85306.