MINA LANDES
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- MINA LANDES
MINA LANDES
Mina Irene (Thomas) Landes, a longtime Fort Dodge community environmental and conservation activist, passed away peacefully on September 20, 2021 at the age of 99. Mina was born in Lone Tree, Iowa on March 15, 1922 to Emma (Zinkula) and Elmer Thomas. Mina graduated from West Branch High School at age 16 and then as a registered nurse in the Nurse Cadet Corps, Copley Hospital School of Nursing, Aurora, IL in 1946. She married Max Landes in 1945 and they moved to Fort Dodge in 1947 where they raised four children.
Mina was raised on a farm in southeast Iowa where she developed her love for the out-of-doors. She worked part-time as a registered nurse in Fort Dodge for 5 years, but she was known mainly for her active volunteer life in many organizations, including Camp Fire, Phil Fox Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America (IWLA), First United Methodist Church, Fort Dodge Women’s Club, PEO, and the National T.T.T. Society. Throughout her life, Mina believed strongly in the importance of giving back, especially within organizations that supported children and the environment.
Mina was best known for her work at the 30-acre Children’s Forest in Kennedy Park, which she tended with loving care from 1964 until her move to Friendship Haven in 2015. For her dedication, she was awarded an individual National Conservation Award by the IWLA (1985), the Teddy Roosevelt Award (1992), Fort Dodge’s Conservationist of the Year (early 2000’s), and a Citation of Appreciation from the Webster County Conservation Board “for outstanding contributions to the Community and Citizens of Webster County, Iowa” (2005). In 2001, Mina and Max were honored as Fort Dodge’s Most Respected Citizens of the Year serving as Grand Marshals of the Frontier Days parade.
Mina was ahead of her time in promoting and adopting a simpler lifestyle, believing that we should reduce our use of unnecessary “things,” that we should reuse and repair everything possible, conserve water, and recycle whatever we can.
Mina was predeceased by her son Jeffry (2001) and her husband Max (2007). She is survived by her three daughters, Cynthia (Zuhdi) Lababidi, Columbia, MO; Nancy (Joe Loomer) Landes, Colorado Springs, CO; and Laura (Tom) Kelecy, Colorado Springs, CO; her daughter-in-law, Diana Landes, Lakeside, CA; her sister, Mary Ann Meder, West Branch, IA; her grandchildren, Dina (Matthew) Wiggins, Los Angeles, CA; Sami (Carrie) Lababidi, Boulder, CO; and Maxwell Landes, Lakeside, CA; and her great-grandchildren, Nadia and Matthew Lee Wiggins, Los Angeles, CA.
No memorial services are planned at this time, but donations in Mina’s memory may be sent to support the Children’s Forest and/or Camp WaNoKi through the Friends of Webster County Conservation, 1415 Nelson Ave, Fort Dodge, IA 50501. You may also honor Mina by planting a tree – in your backyard or wherever you choose!