Alanson "Lany" Elgar

Alanson K. "Lany" Elgar, 86, of Mt. Pleasant, died Friday, May 2, 2014 at Meth-Wick Community in Cedar Rapids. Born September 1, 1927, in Mt. Pleasant, he was the son of Herman E. Elgar and Clara (King) Elgar. He married his college sweetheart, Barbara (Dennis) Elgar on August 5, 1950. Lany graduated from Mt. Pleasant High School in 1945 and Iowa Wesleyan College in 1949. After he graduated from the Drake University Law School and was admitted to the Iowa Bar in 1951, he returned to Mt. Pleasant to practice law with his father and later his brother at Elgar Law Office. He became Of Counsel with the Whitfield Eddy Law Office in 2003. He retired in 2008 after practicing law for 57 years. He served as President of the Iowa Defense Counsel Association in 1983 and was State Chairman (1985-1986) and Regional Vice President (1986-1988) of the Defense Research Institute, Inc. He was a past President of the Henry County Bar Association and belonged to the Iowa State Bar Association, American Bar Association and the International Association of Defense Counsel. He was elected to the Iowa Wesleyan College Board of Trustees in 1968 and served as attorney for Iowa Wesleyan College for many years. He also served on the Administrative Council and Trustees of the United Methodist Church. He was an original member of the Old Threshers Foundation Board. He and Barb helped with the fundraising for the steam-powered carousel at Old Threshers and served as volunteer coordinators for the carousel for many years. He was also involved with the early industrial development in Mt. Pleasant. He served as a member of and attorney for the Henry County Industrial Development Commission for many years. He received the Mt. Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance Citizen of the Year Award in 1984. He is survived by his wife, Barbara, sons Alan Elgar of Iowa City and Robert Elgar and his wife Susan Richers Elgar of Plainfield, Illinois and daughter Mary Elgar of Mt. Pleasant. He is also survived by his granddaughter, Meredith Elgar of Warrenville, Illinois; grandson Nicholas Elgar, stationed at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany; and cousins, nieces, great nieces, nephews and great nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, by sister Elizabeth Anderson and husband Orville Anderson, by brother John and wife Elva, and by brother Lawrence. Visitation will begin after noon Monday at the Olson-Powell Memorial Chapel in Mt. Pleasant, where family will receive friends from 5 to 7 p.m. A funeral service will be held at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 6, at the First United Methodist Church with Pastor Deborah Stowers officiating. Interment will be in Forest Home Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family has established memorials for Iowa Wesleyan College, Old Threshers Foundation and First United Methodist Church.