UIU mourns passing of Barbara Csomay

Upper Iowa University is deeply saddened to announce the passing of Barbara (Rankin) Csomay, a beloved and highly respected UIU alumna, who died at the age of 90 at the Kanawha Community Home in Kanawha, Iowa, on Sunday, Nov. 1.

Born in 1925, Barbara graduated with a teaching degree from Upper Iowa in 1946. Her teaching career began in Fayette on an Emergency Teaching Permit during World War II. She also taught in Heidelberg, Germany; Garner, Iowa, and Parma, Ohio. It was while in Parma that Barbara met and married her husband, the late Richard Csomay, who was an accomplished musician and songwriter. The couple traveled the world and had homes in Los Angeles and Kanawha.

In 2010, Barbara returned to the University to present a commitment of $847,000 toward the creation of the Csomay Honors Program on the Fayette campus and the Csomay Endowed Scholarship. While the Csomay Endowed Scholarship supports student scholarly pursuits and high academic standards, funding for the Csomay Honors Program helps provide leadership and service opportunities to participating students. These gifts, like those of all our alumni and friends, are certain to have a positive impact on today’s UIU students and all future Peacocks.

Barbara’s funeral services were held Thursday, Nov. 5, at the United Methodist Church in Kanawha.

Barbara’s love for teaching and academic excellence will live on eternally at Upper Iowa University through the Csomay Endowed Scholarship Program and the Csomay Honors Program.