Dr. David S. Chamberlain, 83, of Vero Beach, passed away on Jan. 7, 2015, surrounded by members of his family. He had been ill for some time and was receiving hospice at Indian River Estates in Vero Beach.
He is survived by his wife of 60 years Ytsjelisck Chamberlain; his son Arjen David Chamberlain of Galena Ill. (wife Patti and son Mathias), son Stanley Chamberlain of Chapel Hill N.C. (wife Laura and sons Nick and Zach), daughter Willa Bodman of Cambridge Mass. (husband Taylor, and children Samuel, Jamie, Johanna, Mathew, and Daisy), son Gregory Chamberlain of Chapel Hill N.C. (wife Lynn and son Krielow), daughter Iowa Chamberlain of Iowa City, Iowa (children Mariah, Willa, Paul and Caroline) and son Austin Chamberlain of Iowa City, Iowa (wife Jill and daughters Libby and Lucy); and by his brothers Everett Chamberlain of Vero Beach and William Chamberlain of Cape Coral Fla.
He was preceded in death by his father George S. Chamberlain and his mother Ester Chamberlain and his son Godwin Chamberlain.
Chamberlain was born on Feb. 10, 1931 in Boston, Mass. He was the second oldest of three boys. He grew up in various towns in Massachusetts and attended Brown & Nichols prep school in Boston, where lettered in three sports including football, wrestling, and crew.
In 1952, Chamberlain received his bachelor’s degree in English at Dartmouth College. While at Dartmouth he participated in crew and was member of the Theta Delta Chi fraternity. He was awarded a James B Reynolds scholarship for foreign study and enrolled at Oxford University in England. On his way to Oxford by steamship, Chamberlain met his future wife Ytsjelisck Witeveen who was returning to Friesland after an extended trip to America and Canada. After a two year courtship, he and Ytsjelisck were married in 1954.
He also received his MA in English 1954. Upon returning to the states, Chamberlain enrolled in officer’s training school, and served two years as a navigation officer during the Korean War. He flew naval air missions patrolling the DEW line along the eastern seaboard of the US.
After his military service, he began further graduate work at Princeton University and eventually received his Ph.D in Medieval Literature. In 1962, while still writing up his dissertation, Chamberlain moved his young family to Iowa City to take a job as an assistant professor in the English Department at the University of Iowa.
In 1975, Chamberlain became a full professor of English at the University of Iowa. In 1997 he retired after a 38 year career of teaching and research into medieval literature. He was a well- loved professor who was well known for his teaching of Beowulf and other pieces of classic literature. He especially enjoyed teaching undergraduate students.
Chamberlain and Ytsjelisck and their family attended Thomas Moore Catholic Church throughout their time in Iowa City. He was active in Iowa politics, and was an accomplished carpenter, and handyman. He and Ytsjelisck raised six children in Iowa City and lived in six different Iowa City homes. After retiring, the couple moved to Florida, and eventually settled in Vero Beach. After a brief return to Iowa City, he and Ytsjelisck returned to Florida, and moved into the Indian River Retirement community in Vero Beach.
The funeral was held at St. Helen’s Catholic Church in Vero Beach on Jan. 19, with all his family in attendance.
