Don Hattery, co-founder and former president and chairman of Shive-Hattery, died March 18, 2026, at the age of 96 at Cottage Grove Place after a brief hospice period.
His wife of 73 years, Mary Lou Hattery, 94, died the same day, also at Cottage Grove Place.
According to a post on the Shive-Hattery website, Mr. Hattery helped establish Shive-Hattery, which would become one of the region’s prominent architecture and engineering firms, playing a central role in shaping its culture and direction from its founding through decades of growth.
Born March 11, 1930, in Mingo, Iowa, Mr. Hattery was the son of Mabell Hiatt Hattery and Lowell Hattery. He graduated from Red Oak High School and earned a civil engineering degree from Iowa State College in 1952. At Iowa State, he served as president of Phi Kappa Psi, played trombone in the school’s band and orchestra and performed with the “Swinging Door Four” barbershop quartet.
Mr. Hattery’s time at Iowa State also produced two relationships that would define his life. At a sorority event, he met his future wife, Mary Lou — whom he later described as “the girl in a brilliant blue knit dress.” Around the same time, he began sharing car rides to school with Jim Shive, forming a friendship that would eventually lead to a business partnership.
After marrying in 1952, Mr. Hattery and his wife lived in several cities before settling in Cedar Rapids in 1956, where Mr. Hattery worked for Link-Belt Speeder. He reconnected with Mr. Shive – whose firm, Shive Engineering, had more work than staff – and began helping part-time on nights and weekends. He eventually left his full-time position to join Phil and Jim Shive at the firm full-time. Shive-Hattery was officially formed in 1962.
Under Mr. Hattery’s leadership, the firm grew from six employees to nearly 200 and expanded from civil engineering into a full-service architecture and engineering design firm. Following Mr. Shive’s sudden death in 1985, Mr. Hattery assumed the roles of president and chairman, guiding the firm through the transition.
Beyond his professional work, Mr. Hattery was active in civic life in Cedar Rapids across areas including economic development, education, health care and the arts.
Mr. Hattery was known for his humor and storytelling. He often recalled a sign posted above a donut bar in the Iowa State Memorial Union cafeteria: “As you ramble on thru life, brother, whate’er may be your goal; keep your eye upon the doughnut and not upon the hole.”
Shive-Hattery is headquartered in Cedar Rapids and operates as a nationally recognized architecture and engineering firm.
An obituary for Mr. and Mrs. Hattery – with an unusually tongue-in-cheek introduction – is posted at Cedar Memorial’s website.
A Celebration of Lives for the Hatterys will be held on Saturday, May 9, from 3-5 pm at the Cedar Rapids Country Club. Inurnment will follow later this summer in McGregor, Iowa.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be directed to the McGregor Public Library Foundation, PO Box 398, McGregor, IA 52157.
