Patrick Gerard

Vickers

Patrick Gerard Vickers

April 12, 1953-November 3, 2026

Patrick Gerard (Pat) Vickers died peacefully surrounded by loved ones on November 3, 2026. He took his last breath in the same city where he took his first: Omaha, Nebraska. He was seventy-three years old.

Pat was the fourth of six children born to Richard Harold Vickers and Alice Jeanette (Ryan) Vickers. Shortly after his birth, Rich and Alice moved their family to Mason City, Iowa, and settled in the St. Joe neighborhood.

No one could describe the Mason City of Pat’s youth better than him. To wish his brothers and sisters at United Cement, Lime, and Gypsum Workers International Union Local 106 a happy Labor Day in 2018, he wrote on Facebook: “Mason City was the bluest of blue collar towns when I was growing up. It was a town filled with smokestacks and cement dust and the smell of sugar beets and the slaughterhouse. It was a town where people got up early and went to work carrying metal lunch pails and thermoses and at the end of the workday they came home with their lunch pails and thermoses empty, but with their family’s fortunes just a little bit better than they had been the day before.”

After graduating from Newman High School in 1971, Pat spent time working with his uncle, Dick Ryan, at ConAgra in Pennsylvania. He then returned home to do more of that blue collar work, including a job at Lehigh Cement. He smelled of that cement dust for a time before leaving Mason City to attend the University of Iowa. He loved the Hawkeyes then and remained a fan through his final days. The last football game Pat watched was alongside his son, Rich, as they cheered on the Hawks in a shutout victory over the Wisconsin Badgers.

In 1981, Pat was a groomsman in a wedding. Across the aisle was a beautiful bridesmaid named Gaylene. Everyone called her Buzzy. They were immediately smitten. She lived in Pennsylvania, so Pat courted Buzzy from afar. In just a few months, he convinced her to come start a life with him. They lived in Mason City before moving to Greene, Iowa, where Pat’s brother, Dick, had thrown out a shingle and was building a law practice and a family.

Pat and Buzzy married on November 25, 1983, during a blizzardy Thanksgiving weekend. The things Buzzy loved about Pat then were the same things that kept her loving him for nearly forty-three years of marriage - he was funny, smart, and kind. He knew he outkicked his coverage when she chose him. He loved her so well.

They started a family of their own, and with two babies at home, Pat worked his way through law school. He commuted to classes at William Mitchell College of Law in the Twin Cities each week, then returned to work at his brother’s law office. After passing the bar, Pat continued at Vickers Law Office as a licensed attorney and, soon, a partner. He remained there his entire career, practicing law with his brother for over three decades. His daughter, Libby, eventually joined the firm. As a small town general practitioner, Pat handled all sorts of cases, but he had a special talent for juvenile law. For many years, Pat was a dedicated court-appointed attorney for children in cases involving abuse and neglect. He also provided countless hours of pro bono legal services to those in need.

Pat’s civic engagement didn’t just happen in the courtroom. He loved Iowa and his country, and believed deeply in the potential of both. Over the years, he served on the Butler County Democrat Central Committee, and volunteered and supported many Democratic candidates (and a few Republican ones). He knew there was no path to a better future for his children, his grandchildren, and all his neighbors without civil liberties, workers’ rights, and public education. Although he practiced criminal defense for many years, he was an ardent supporter of law enforcement. He felt personally indebted to our veterans and never took for granted the sacrifices of those who served, especially his own brother, Dick.

Pat and Buzzy stayed in Greene, which was - and still is - a wonderful place to raise a family. Their four children were given a childhood filled with love, laughter, and so much learning. Dinner table debates and Sunday movie nights were regular occurrences. Pat never missed his kids’ performances and athletic events. He was their biggest supporter and their toughest critic. Being a dad was what he did best, up until 2014.

On that Fourth of July, Pat and Buzzy’s first grandchild was born. They became BawBaw and GaGa. Pat had nine grandchildren when he passed - Finley Patrick Hartzler, Miles Donald Hartzler, Matilda Grace Hartzler, Harriet Mae Batey, George Ryan Batey, Archie Patrick Batey, Malcolm Richard Batey, Samuel James Poirier, and Penelope Margaret Poirier. He’ll be remembered by many as a friend, zealous attorney, supportive community member, or the author of funny, thoughtful, and poignant Facebook posts. But at his core, he was BawBaw. BawBaw was kind and engaging. He gave his grandchildren his undivided attention. He delighted in each of them. The last twelve years of his life were his greatest; nothing could compete with the joy the role of BawBaw brought him.

Pat was preceded in death by his parents, his beloved eldest sister, Peg, and his beloved eldest brother, Dick. Pat leaves behind the love of his life, his wife, Gaylene Vickers, his daughters Margaret (Jonathan) Hartzler, Elizabeth (Jordan) Batey, Katherine (Jacob) Poirier, his son Richard Vickers, and those nine precious grandchildren. He also leaves behind his siblings and their spouses - Mary Ann Vickers, Michael and Joyce Vickers, Mary and David Haller, and Karen and Michael McMillan. And finally, he will be greatly missed by his nieces and nephews.

An obituary aims to tell the story of a life that has already been lived, but as Bob Dylan sang, death is not the end. We cannot fully capture Pat’s legacy in words on a page, as his story isn’t over. His wisdom, humor, and kindness live and grow in all of us, but most of all, in his children’s children. And their own stories, which will forever be part of his, are still being written.

There will be a celebration of life on Saturday, November 14th in Greene, Iowa at the North Butler High School “Old Gym” at 3pm with a gathering at the Round Grove Country Club to follow. In lieu of flowers, if you wish to make a donation in Pat’s memory, please consider one of the many causes he and his family cared about and supported, including the Greene Aquatics Center, the Chris Norton Foundation, Camp Tanglefoot, Iowa Legal Aid, and Tanager Place.