DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - A judge has awarded guardianship of 79-year-old Bob Queener to his niece and a state senator, ending a seven-month battle with the Iowa Department of Human Services over who should oversee the Des Moines man's health care, housing and general well-being.

Queener's relatives spoke out publicly after a DHS worker removed him from his home on Dec. 8 without notifying any relatives, who panicked when they discovered he was missing.

The court-approved emergency removal led to a series of decisions that were outside the family's control.

Queener was isolated for months in locked psychiatric and nursing home units, unable to leave on family outings. A court-appointed conservator began to dispose of his possessions without his knowledge - including memorabilia from his military service - then put up for sale the mortgage-free house he had kept tidy for four decades.

On Thursday, overruling DHS's opposition, Polk County Associate Probate Judge Ruth Klotz awarded guardianship of Queener, who has dementia, to his niece, Cheri Jensen of Altoona, and Sen. Dennis Black, D-Lynnville, who had stepped in to advocate on behalf of Queener and Jensen.

"Bob's welfare is what this means to me," said Jensen, who celebrated Thursday's news with her uncle and several relatives. "He's still able to walk and talk, and why keep him locked away just because we have a short-term memory problem?"

Black said he would push for state law changes to give families of people who can no longer live alone more say in their treatment.

In her ruling Wednesday, Klotz made a point to say that despite criticism about what happened to Queener, she believed DHS officials followed the law "in all instances." Klotz also defended the two volunteers the court appointed to serve as guardian and conservator.

A guardian oversees health and well-being of an individual who is mentally incompetent and makes day-to-day decisions for the person. A conservator is responsible for the ward's finances, bills, investments and taxes.

The judge said in her ruling that she would make a decision later on a permanent conservator for Queener.

The judge said she made her decision to pick Jensen and Black "with some concern." Klotz said she hoped they do only what's in Queener's best interests, not just what he wishes.

"No doubt he would prefer to return to his home and live as he did before the DHS involvement, but based on the evidence heard by the court, this does not appear to be in his best interests," Klotz wrote.

In court testimony, DHS staff said several medical staffers told Jensen last fall that Queener needed 24-hour care, but that she ignored that advice.

Relatives testified that Jensen lined up a part-time home health care aide, lovingly included the elderly man in her family's activities, obtained power of attorney at his doctor's advice, and was working with Queener's son in California to find a suitable assisted-living facility.

DHS at first placed Queener in a locked psychiatric unit at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Des Moines and later in a locked dementia ward at Trinity Center in Des Moines. He is now in a Trinity Center unit with a lower level of care.

On Thursday, Black said he and Jensen had no intention of moving Queener to his home again.

"He has nothing to return to because the house and garage have basically been emptied of his personal possessions," said Black, who took an interest in the case after Jensen shared details with him.

Missing are Queener's family Bible, his uniform and ribbons from his service as a paratrooper in the Korean War, and other memorabilia and household goods, Black said.

Black said state lawmakers should consider changes to state law to better ensure those with dementia, autism or other mental deficits are treated with dignity. The law should require that family members have a say in the process, and, if they must be institutionalized, their private property shouldn't be disposed of before the family has a chance to go through it, he said.

"We need more oversight in the DHS to make sure citizens do not feel fear of that state agency, which is comprised of people who are paid for by our taxes," Black said.

Families in Iowa don't have the right to be notified before the Department of Human Services does an emergency removal of an elderly relative.

Advocates for the elderly say that the lack of required notice on emergency removals can leave families in the dark when they're struggling with aging relatives who are losing their ability to live independently but aren't ready to accept a better alternative or don't understand their options.

DHS spokesman Roger Munns said Thursday: "It seems like the linchpin of the emotion was the removal and how that came to pass. I know our people have said they wish it hadn't happened that way, but they felt they had to remove him for his own safety."

The judge in her ruling said there was clear and convincing evidence that Queener's decision-making abilities were so impaired that he was unable to handle his finances, personal safety, food, shelter, clothing or medical care.

DHS Director Charlie Krogmeier agreed on Thursday that the emergency removal was necessary. "We think the action we took in December, as the court says, was correct based on the information we had at that time," he said.

But DHS staff could have communicated better with Jensen "at those early stages," he said.

Krogmeier added: "We always would look at opportunities to take a step back and take deep breath and get everyone involved in a family meeting."