Obituary of Emmett Burger Polder

DYERSVILLE, IOWA Emmett Burger Polder, 94 of Dyersville, died Thursday, January 1, 2009 at Mercy Hospital, Dubuque after a short illness. Emmett was born December 14, 1914 the son of William and Sadie (Burger) Polderboer. On August 22, 1940 he married Edith Ham at St. Patrick's Rectory in Washington, DC. In 1950 the name Polderboer was reduced to Polder. Survivors include one sister, Ruth Whitaker of Allison, Iowa, five nephews and four nieces. Emmett was preceded in death by his wife Edith and one sister Wilma Brenne of Park Forest, IL. Emmett graduated from Iowa State College with a Masters degree in Zoology and later taught Ecology at Loras College in Dubuque. He was the Botanist for the State of Iowa while building Backbone State Park in Strawberry Point, Iowa. Emmett published eleven writings before 1965 and in the past five years has published four books on plants and animals.