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2009 took a number of well-known folks away from the Central Iowa family of business and civic leaders. Some of the names were familiar to thousands and became part of our conversations as decades passed.

Now they’re gone. But they will be remembered.

Bob Brown bought a Chevrolet dealership at 11th and Locust streets in 1961. He built it into a prominent business on Merle Hay Road, where it still thrives today. Brown was born in Nebraska and met his wife, Violet, while working in Omaha. They moved to Detroit, where he became the general manager of a car dealership before coming to Des Moines.

Jan Drees was a Des Moines native who worked for more than 35 years in the city’s public school system. She retired in 2006 as principal of the Downtown School and Edmunds Academy of Fine Arts.

Holmes Foster served the banking industry at high levels, in both public and private capacities. He was chairman and CEO of Banks of Iowa Inc. for 20 years, and served as Iowa’s superintendent of banking from 1999 to 2002. Foster also filled many other leadership roles, including vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago; director of the Iowa Department of Commerce; and first chairman of the Grow Iowa Values Fund.

James Hubbell Jr. was part of the fourth generation of one of Central Iowa’s most prominent families, and played an important role in the redevelopment of downtown Des Moines. He spent 47 years with the company founded by Frederick M. Hubbell, Equitable Life Insurance Company of Iowa, becoming chairman of the board in 1976 and then president and CEO. As president of the Greater Des Moines Committee, he helped lay the groundwork for the downtown renaissance that included the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines and Nollen Plaza. Hubbell served on the boards of many organizations, including the Des Moines Art Center, and was a generous philanthropist as well. He is a member of the Iowa Business Hall of Fame.

Rod Lein changed the face of Ankeny as the developer of several housing projects, Briarwood Golf Course and Mill-Pond Retirement Community. He also started a newspaper, Ankeny Today, and owned First Realty of Ankeny.

Bev Mahon was involved with the motion picture business for 78 years, including his tenure as operator of the Varsity Theatre, 1207 25th St. in Des Moines.

Bob Mickle stood as a shining example of the “concerned citizen” in his final years, not only attending countless meetings of the Des Moines City Council and other governmental bodies, but regularly voicing his opinion there. Mickle was a municipal planner in New York City in the 1950s, then returned to his native Iowa to become the first director of the Central Iowa Regional Planning Commission. He served as the planning director for Des Moines for 10 years. Later, he helped start the Neighborhood Investment Corp. and ran the Mickle Neighborhood Resource Center.

Elaine Szymoniak served on the Des Moines City Council from 1977 to 1988 and as a senator in the Iowa Legislature from 1989 to 2000. While in the Senate, she pushed for the legislation that helped bring the World Food Prize to Des Moines. Szymoniak also served on the board of directors of the Chrysalis Foundation. She is a member of the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame.

Dic Youngs got into the world of Des Moines radio as a teenager and never left it, spending much of his career at KIOA and becoming one of the most familiar voices in Central Iowa. In 1997, Youngs was inducted into the Iowa Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame.