Donald D. Waderich, 85 of Humboldt formerly of Denison, passed away on Wednesday, May 29, 2024, at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska. Funeral Services will be held on Monday, June 3, 2024, at 3:00 PM at Zion Lutheran Church in Humboldt. Service will be livestreamed via Lentz Funeral Home’s Website. Visitation will be held on Monday from 1:30 PM until the time of the service at 3:00 PM at Zion Lutheran Church in Humboldt. Burial will take place on Tuesday, June 4, 2024, at 10:30 AM at Crawford Heights Memory Gardens in Denison where he will be laid to rest by his wife, Linda. Services have been entrusted to Lentz Funeral Home of Humboldt.
Donald Delaine Waderich, the son of Walter and Freda (Thies) Waderich, was born on November 15, 1938 in Ute, Iowa. Don attended schools in Charter Oak and Ute and graduated from Dow City High School with the class of 1956. Don served in the United States Army both active and reserves from 1958-1962 with a tour in Germany for two years. After finishing his service to his country, Don and his brother Ralph opened up Waderich’s DX in Dow City on the corner of Highway 30 and Main Street of Dow City. He later moved to Denison and started selling tires and later became an alignment, brake and exhaust mechanic at V&H Tire in Denison for 36 years.
On May 6, 1962, Don married the love of his life, Linda Kollbaum, at Grant Township Lutheran Church in Ida Grove, Iowa. The couple was blessed with two daughters: Debra Martin and Linette Case. Using his GI Bill, Don built his first home in Denison.
Don was a loving, caring husband, father, grandfather, and great grandfather. He loved to tease and make the little ones laugh. Family was very important to him and during their visits he enjoyed sharing his most recent projects, playing darts, and many games of cards. He loved fixing things and using scraps to build or put things back together. In nature with Don’s career, he loved taking drives in the car and could always identify older models of cars and their engines.
Don was a member of Zion Lutheran Church in Humboldt and the Lions Club. In Don’s spare time, he was an avid hunter and fisherman. His hunting and fishing stories are endless, but one of the most memorable was the night of Thanksgiving shooting of “two deer with one arrow” in an open field off the deck of his house in Humboldt. His most cherished hunt was his bear hunt in Canada and he loved to share his stories of the big black bear. He would never turn down an opportunity to fish. It didn’t matter if it was a small farm pond or river and the last several years he enjoyed many trips with his buddies that often followed with some delicious fish frys. Don had a green thumb and enjoyed planting flowers and gardening with his wife Linda. He enjoyed working in the yard and decorated for each season inside and out the home.
Left to cherish Don’s memory are his daughters: Debra (Daniel) Martin of Kiron and Linette (Terry) Case of Belmond; 5 grandchildren; 8 great grandchildren; his brother Ralph and wife Donna of Omaha; his sister Marlene Riley (Wayne) of Indianapolis.
He was preceded in death by his parents: Walter and Freda Waderich; wife: Linda Waderich; brother: Wilfred; brother in law: Wayne Riley; and nephew Denny Waderich.
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