Donald Iffland

Don Charles Iffland passed away on December 15, 2020 at Friendship Village in Kalamazoo MI at the age of 99. Don was born near Blissfield, Michigan on November 26, 1921 to Frederick Charles Iffland and Letha Margaretha Lipp. He grew up on a farm in south-eastern MI. He attended a nearby one-room country elementary school and later graduated from Blissfield High School in 1939. His parents operated a farm and maintained the equipment and installed their own electrical system long before the advent of REA in their area. When he graduated from high school he obtained Amateur Radio operators and station licenses. Don went to Adrian College with the plan to major in chemistry and graduated with a BS in 1943. During the summer of 1942, he was employed as an assistant analytical chemist at the Parker Rustproof Co. in Detroit, MI. He went to Purdue University with an appointment as a graduate teaching assistant in the Chemistry Department. His first assignment was with the faculty group the Army ASTP and the Navy V7 and V12 groups on campus during WWII. He studied organic chemistry and completed his Masters Degree in 1946 and a PhD in 1947. While in graduate school, He married Mary Jane Sparks, on April 29, 1944. He invited her to a corn maze on their first date. Mary Jane recounted often that he grabbed her hand as they ran into the maze. "I guess I just never let go of his hand" she'd say. His professional career included time in West Virginia, as Assistant and Associate Professor of Chemistry from 1947-1953. He spent the 1954-5 on a post-doctoral research fellowship at Purdue University. In 1956, he joined the Chemistry Department at Western Michigan University and became the Department's Chairman from 1969 to 1979. He served as research director for 25 masters and six PhD students. In 1973, Adrian College gave him an honorary Doctor of Science degree. He retired in 1984, and was one of the longest members of the American Chemical Society from 1943-2020. As a young father, he enjoyed traveling or camping in all of the US States and most of the Canadian Provinces with his wife and two daughters. Through his interests in photography and classical guitar, he captured many family memories and filled the family time with music. Don will be remembered for his many academic achievements, for his efforts to be a good steward over his home and family, his great taste for adventure (especially road trips, hikes, and rafting adventures), and his incredible sharp memory of every winding road. He is survived by his daughter, Charis (Kyle) Austin, his grandchildren Scott (Brittany) Austin, Annalaura (Chris) Solomon, Sulan Artz-Iffland, Limin Artz-Iffland, and five great-grandchildren Emilia, Eli, Coraline, Oliver and Anika. He was preceded in death by his parents, his daughter Diana (River) Artz-Iffland, his wife Mary Jane, and sister Muriel Lepley who passed away only six months earlier. Those desiring to make a donation in his memory, may do so to the Salvation Army or the Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired, 456 Cherry Street, SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503. Please visit Don's personalized webpage at https://www.langelands.com