Ronald Medd was an entrepreneur and a person who worked very hard with his family to improve the Bettendorf community, according to the Rev. Richard Pokora of Redeemer Lutheran Church, Bettendorf.

Medd, 85, died Monday at his Bettendorf home, surrounded by his family.

His many accomplishments included helping to invent the "Blizzard" machine for Dairy Queen franchises all over the country. The frosty treat is so popular in some quarters that it even has a fan club.

To this day, Pokora enjoys stopping by the Bettendorf Dairy Queen on 18th Street, where he thinks about Medd. A machine in that location commemorates the invention.

Medd and his family were among the original Dairy Queen franchisees and owned stores in Ohio, eastern New York and Scott and Rock Island counties.

"When you look at Ron and the Medd family, you see the American dream at work," Pokora said.

Medd is an example of how an American can turn an idea into reality to make everyone's life a little better.

"He made a contribution to Bettendorf, to the ice cream business and to American enterprise," said Pokora, who knew Medd for years.