Finding Vision

For many, finding the bright side of losing sight in one eye would be impossible. But that’s exactly what Steve “Dukie” Corson ’79 did.

In August 2017, Dukie woke up blind in his right eye. The cause was sudden retinal and macular detachment. After numerous doctor visits and multiple surgeries at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, the reality set in that his vision in that eye was gone for good.

An eternal optimist, Dukie found perspective during this challenging time in his life. On his medical trips to Iowa City, he often saw children heading into the nearby University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital.

Steve “Dukie” Corson ’79 (second from right) and friends have raised more than $700,000 for the Stead Family Children’s Hospital.

“God was working in mysterious ways when he said, ‘Dukie, you’re about ready to retire anyway. Why don’t you do this golf tournament and make your heart happy?’” he says. “I thought, Forget about the eye. There are kids in that hospital dying from cancer. I need to help them out.”

After graduating from Luther, Dukie had attended mortuary school in order to work at the funeral home that his great-grandfather had founded, Kaiser-Corson Funeral Home. “I saw it as a calling,” he says. “I would come home during the summers and work with my dad part-time at the funeral home, helping with visitations and funeral services. I saw that what he was doing was really helping families at the worst time of their lives. I wanted to be part of that.”

When vision loss struck, Dukie retired as president of the funeral home. With the support of his family and friends, he launched Dukie’s One Eye Open, a charitable golf tournament to raise funds for the children’s hospital. Between 2018 and 2025, the event, held in Waverly, Iowa, raised more than $700,000 for the Stead Family Children’s Hospital.

The impact of Dukie’s One Eye Open has been far-reaching. Dukie’s Vision Fund has helped families afford specialized eyewear, iPads, and books, and his fundraising has helped the hospital afford two therapy dogs and support for pediatric brain cancer research.

“It just grabs your heart and says, Wow, we did a good thing, guys,” Dukie says. “Our community has a huge heart. I never imagined it would turn out this way eight years ago. This is one of the coolest things I’ve ever done in my life.”