Donald William Mott

Mott—Donald William Mott, 96, on December 18, 2020, of COVID-19, at the Village, a WesleyLife retirement community in Indianola, Iowa. Don was born to Francis Mott and Frances (Binns) Mott on the Mott family farm near Paullina, Iowa, on December 17, 1924. Don’s high school years were split between Gaza (Iowa) High School and Olney Friends School in Barnesville, Ohio. He graduated from Olney in 1942.

In 1943, Don studied at William Penn College in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Following one year at William Penn, Don registered for the draft as a conscientious objector and performed Civilian Public Service (CPS) work from 1944 to 1946. Upon completion of his CPS work, Don returned to Paullina to help his father on the family farm. On October 4, 1947, he married Dorothy Livezey, an Olney high school classmate, at the Stillwater Meetinghouse in Barnesville. In 1948, Don refused to register for the compulsory peacetime draft. He was arrested and served eight months at the federal prison near Springfield, Mo.

In 1951, Don and Dot moved to Barnesville, where for two years Don was employed as a farm manager at Olney Friends School. In 1953, they moved to Costa Rica to join friends and family in the Monteverde Quaker community. Don’s primary work was in the sawmill.

Don and Dot returned to the family farm in northwest Iowa. Don farmed and worked at other jobs in the community. He was employed by the O’Brien County Co-op Creamery (which later joined Associated Milk Producers Inc.) in Sanborn, Iowa, from 1958 until his retirement in 1985. During this time, he worked as a fieldman monitoring milk quality, installing milk storage equipment, and performing refrigeration repairs. In 1972, Don and Dot moved from the farm to a home in Paullina. They were active in the American Field Service student exchange program. During the 1973-74 school year, Andrew Brown of Birmingham, England, joined their family. Don and Dot moved to the Village retirement community in Indianola in 2001. Following Dot’s death in 2006, Don continued living at the Village. Don’s daughter, Deb, provided additional nursing care during his later years.

Don was an active, lifelong member of Paullina Meeting and attended the Village Quaker worship group. He had a wide variety of interests and hobbies. He loved music, especially big band music, as well as musical performances by his son Dennis. Don spent his retirement years repairing and riding bicycles. He, along with numerous family members, took part in local bike rides and several RAGBRAI, an annual seven-day bicycle ride across Iowa. Don rode with his father, Francis, and son David, in the 1974 RAGBRAI. Don liked flying. He co-owned a Cessna plane with his son Daniel. He and Dot spent 20 winters camping in the southern states, primarily in Texas and at Gulf Shores, Ala.

Don was predeceased by his wife of 59 years, Dorothy (Livezey) Mott; his parents; a sister and brother-in-law, Mildred (Mott) and Hubert Mendenhall; a brother and sister-in-law, Jim and Jackie Mott; a brother-in-law, James Neifert; and a son-in-law, George Miller.

Don is survived by four children, Dave Ash-Mott (Carrie); Deb McCreedy (Stan); Dan Mott (Barb Busch-Mott), and Dennis Mott (Julie); AFS student son, Andrew Brown (Emma) of South Wales, UK; five grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; a sister, Muriel Neifert; and three sisters-in-law, Millie Crosbie, Bertha Brown, and Carol Livezey.