Dr. John M. Werner

Dr. John M. Werner passed away on Wednesday, July 8, 2020, at Iowa Masonic Health Facility in Bettendorf, Iowa.

Services are 1 p.m. Monday in the Horizon Room at Trimble Funeral Home at Trimble Pointe, 701 12th Street, Moline, and will be live streamed at facebook.com/TrimbleFuneralHome. The family will receive friends at a hospitality visitation with food and refreshments before the service from 11 a.m. to funeral time. Masks and social distancing requirements will be enforced. Entombment is in Moline Memorial Park Mausoleum. Memorials may be made to Mosaic International (mosaicinfo.org).

John was born on March 20, 1941, to John F. Werner and Esther MacGregor Werner in Evansville, IN. He received his undergraduate degree from Evansville College and Master’s Degree and PhD from Indiana University. He married Donna Tatroe on October 30, 1965, in Evansville.

John taught American and Military history at Western Illinois University from 1969 until his retirement in 2003. While at WIU he served as President of the Faculty Senate, advisor to the Army ROTC, and published Reaping the Bloody Harvest: Race Riots in the U.S. During the Age of Jackson.

John’s life was enriched by his many and varied interests. He was an avid modeler and graced his man cave with hundreds of miniature tanks, ships, and aircraft, which he never dusted. He was an amateur paleontologist and made sure his children could identify the major Jurassic period dinosaurs by the time they were 2. John and his wife of 54 years, Donna, traveled extensively. John had a special interest in medieval abbeys and monasteries in the United Kingdom and visited most of the ruins in England, Scotland, and Wales.

He had a keen sense of humor and his quips, quotes, and aphorisms will continue to be shared at family gatherings. John was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather.

He is survived by his wife, Donna; four children, Mary Beth Howard and her husband Robert of Madisonville, Kentucky, John Alan Werner and his wife Niki of Wheaton Illinois, Katie Pearson and her husband Tod of Davenport, Iowa, and Maggie Werner and her partner Penny Hankins of Geneva, New York; three grandchildren, Angela Werner and Justine and Zane Pearson; and his sister, Nancy Wedding. He was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Tom Werner.

John’s family acknowledges the exceptional care John received from the staff at Iowa Masonic. Friends and family are invited to share stories and condolences at TrimbleFuneralHomes.com.