John Axel, a long-time supporter of the Catt Center and Iowa State University, passed away on September 2, 2025.
John was born on June 10, 1941, in Muscatine, Iowa, and graduated from Muscatine High School in 1959. He earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial administration from Iowa State University in 1964 and remained a strong supporter of Iowa State throughout his life. While a student at Iowa State, he met the woman who would become his wife, Joan “Joni” Urenn.
After John earned a graduate degree in public finance from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, the Axels returned to Muscatine. In addition to his 30-year career at HON Industries, John served on numerous community boards and co-founded Muscatine Charities, Inc., which has raised millions of dollars for charitable organizations in that community.
The Axels were early supporters of the renovation of Catt Hall, which was completed in 1995, and the establishment of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics in 1992. John was key in convincing Iowa’s Mary Louise Smith – a longtime political activist and organizer who was the first woman appointed to chair the Republican National Committee in 1974 – to have a chair created in her name at Iowa State University. The Mary Louise Smith Chair in Women and Politics has been hosted as an annual lecture series by the Catt Center since 1996.
John served on the search committee when now-director emerita Dianne Bystrom was interviewed in 1996 and was a friend, supporter and adviser during her 22 years as director. The Axels’ gifts to the center continue to fund leadership development programming for its Legacy of Heroines scholars and undergraduate interns.
In addition to his long-time relationship with the Catt Center, John served on the Ivy College of Business Dean’s Advisory Council from 1987-1994. In 1994, the Axels became ISU Foundation governors, where John served on the finance and award committees. He also is a former Alumni Association ambassador.
The staff at the Catt Center, both past and present, are deeply grateful for the Axels’ support over the years and offer sincere condolences to Joni and the Axel family.
You can read John’s obituary here.