Alan Homer Booton

Alan was born November 6, 1941, in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, to Donald M. Booton and Helen (Snyder) Booton. He was the second of three siblings. Alan grew up on the east side of Des Moines. He graduated from Des Moines East High School in 1960. Upon graduation, he began 40 years of employment with Meridith/Burda Publishing. Alan started as a packer boy, packing printed materials for shipping. He advanced to the bindery where sheets of paper were fastened together to make magazines. Alan retired in 2000 as a journeyman pressman.

Alan met his former wife of 51 years, Sandra (Divelbiss) Booton in 1962. They became best friends quickly and fell in love. Alan and Sandra were married on August 31, 1962. In 1963, while living in Des Moines above Alan’s grandparents on University Ave just north of downtown Des Moines, , they had their first child, Greg. Two years later they had their first daughter, Pam. In 1968 the family moved to Carlisle, IA, where Alan had friends who shared his passion for drag racing. In 1972, Alan and Sandra had their second daughter, Amy.

Alan had several loves & hobbies. First and foremost he was a foodie. He loved American comfort food, pizza, and BBQ. He collected food travel guides including Best Mom & Pop Diners in Iowa and Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives: An All-American Road Trip with Recipes!

Alan was passionate about drag racing. He’d attended multiple national, regional, and local drag races. Eddyville Raceway Park was his local favorite. He would load up his cameras and lenses and head to South Central Iowa for a full day of drags. For a period of time, Alan was the official track photographer. He would take photos of cars racing or undergoing maintenance in the pits and then give them away to the drivers and crews. He read the National Hot Rod Association magazine for most of his adult life. One of Alan’s photos was featured on the cover of a nationally distributed Hot Rod magazine. The photo captured a top fuel funny car exploding as it launched off the starting line. The photo caught the fiberglass body of the funny car melting and rippling from the chassis.

Living in Carlisle, Alan was a short drive away from Indianola, IA, home of the National Hot Air Balloon Classic. For many years he would photograph the grand ascension in the cooler early summer mornings when the balloons full of hot air would get the best lift. He photographed spectacular images of colorful and graceful balloons as they filled the Iowa sky.

Alan’s other hobbies were supporting his grandchildren as they participated in school activities and athletics. When his grandson Brad was a starting point guard on his varsity basketball team, Alan attended every game, home and away, with one exception when he was ill. Brad and his team gave Al “Grandpa” Booton a Certificate of Appreciation in recognition of his outstanding attendance and support of the team. He also attended many football, basketball, and softball games supporting his grandchildren.

Alan was an Honorary Life Member of the Graphic Communications International Union, a member of the Standard 1320 Drag Racing, the standard distance of a drag race is 1,320 feet or 1/4 mile and was the Network Patient Representative for DaVita Ames Mary Greeley Dialysis.

Alan was preceded in death by his mother Helen, who passed away when Alan was 15, his father Don, his brother Lee, granddaughter, Jessica and great-granddaughter, Aubree, and niece, Vicky (Hall) Jackson. Alan is survived by his son, Greg (Diane) Booton, daughters, Pam Davis and Amy Ambrose, grandchildren, Katie Booton, Brad Booton, Andrew Booton, Kelsey Davis, Grant Davis, Helen Ambrose, and Henry Ambrose, two great-grandchildren; sister, Jeannine (Booton) Hall and his ex-wife Sandra.

Memorial contributions may be directed to William R Bliss Cancer Center. Alan’s burial will be at a later date.