Obituary: Ronald A. Batz

January 5, 2016

The gentle veterinarian, Ronald Arlis Batz, died on January 5, 2016, in the loving arms of the Veterans Administration Hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Born March 24, 1938, he was raised on the family's century farm one mile north of the grain elevator in Yetter, Iowa. Following high school graduation from Lake City High School, he joined the United States Army and was honorably discharged after serving as a communication specialist. He returned home to be the first person in his bloodline to go to college, earning a Bachelor of Animal Science degree from Iowa State University in 1967. He married Nancy Jean Hunter in 1962 – all three of their children were born while Ron was working toward his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine degree, which he earned in 1969. Dr. Batz worked as a veterinary intern in Lake City and Newton, Iowa, and served clients in private practice in Hampton and Aurelia, Iowa, before moving to Sioux Falls South Dakota. He was an innovator in his field, moving away from the fixed-location clinic model in Sioux Falls toward the over-the-road mobile clinic model that allowed him to take care of pets in their homes. Ron and Nancy moved the Batz Mobile Pet Clinic to Spirit Lake Iowa in 1999, where they built their dream home on Center Lake. He took great pride in his leadership role as an organizer of conservation efforts for what he called "my lake." Sadly, Ron increasingly struggled to find the basic joy of life as his mental illness progressed with age. Friends and family will remember him for his love of cooking, music, parties, dancing, animals, his "German temper," working with his hands and for laughing at his own jokes. Dr. Batz was preceded in death by his mother Elva Mae Janssen, his father Leslie Paul Batz and grandson Tate Janssen Batz Rogers. He is survived by his brother Verle Batz, of Yetter, Iowa; sisters Sharon (and Dave) McCauley, of Iowa Falls, Iowa; and Arla (and Russ) Fricke, of Bemidji, Minnesota; and his wife of 50 years Nancy Hunter, St. Paul, Minnesota. He has two daughters Heidi (and Earl) Batz Rogers and Liesl Batz, one son Paul (and Melinda) Batz and six grandchildren: Ben, Katie, Willis, Anna, Birch and Ade, all who live in the Minneapolis area of Minnesota. Memorial service is planned for 2PM, Saturday, January 9, 2016, at Miller Funeral Home, 507 South Main Street, Sioux Falls, SD 57104. Memorials will be directed to Volunteer Services of the Sioux Falls Veterans Administration Hospital: PO BOX 5046, Sioux Falls, SD 57117-5046 – in memory of Dr. R.A. Batz.