Wiley, David (1922-2015)

WILEY, ERSKINE, ANDERSON, BRUNS, SANGWIN, ANDERSON, PHILLIPS, TOMFORD, BURKGREN, TALBOTT, DEWALL, TITUS, HANDY, BUNKERS

Posted By: Paul Nagy (email)
Date: 9/9/2015 at 18:30:12

David Wiley
August 13, 1922 - August 21, 2015

Surrounded by his grandchildren, David Arthur Wiley, age 93, of Newell, Iowa, died on Friday, August 21, 2015, at Loring Hospital in Sac City, Iowa.

Born on August 13, 1922, to Arthur Wilson and Pansy (Erskine) Wiley, David Arthur grew up in Page, Nebraska. He had two brothers, John and Harold, and one sister, Florence. He attended school in Gross, Nebraska, for ten years and in Lynch, Nebraska, for one year. Since the school was three miles from their home, the children rode horses to school. He spent his last year at school in Burnside, Iowa, where he graduated in 1941.

Dave worked for Fareway in Fort Dodge, Iowa, for one year before working on a farm for Karl Godman. At first, he had a deferment from the service because he worked on a farm. Consequently, he went to work for a lumber yard so that he could get into the service. In September of 1944, he began Army basic training in Texas. He was deployed overseas on the USS Hayes with 4,000 other servicemen. First sent to the Philippines where he earned a Battle Star, he served as a gunner on a machine gun. Once while he was setting booby traps, a grenade went off injuring his forehead and eye. Temporarily blinded, he spent four weeks in the hospital recovering from his injuries. He was awarded a Purple Heart. With his battalion down to sixty-eight men, his superiors had to call for replacements, and he got to help train them. After two atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese, they surrendered in August of 1945. Dave and his fellow servicemen watched the signing of the Peace Treaty from their ship. He was discharged in November of 1946 as a staff sergeant.

After returning home, Dave farmed for Arvid Johnson from 1947 to 1948. On April 6, 1947, he married the love of his life, Irene Maurine Anderson, at the Little Brown Church in the Vale in Nashua, Iowa. Subsequently, they were blessed with eight children: Colleen, Beverly, Michael, Steven, Mark, Cheryl, Barbara, and Christine. Steven died as an infant in 1954 while they were living in Rockwell City. The couple remained married until Irene passed away in 2002.

In 1956, while they were living in Alta, Dave began working for Grau Motors in Newell. In 1957, they moved to Newell where Dave remained until his death. From 1960 until 1965, he worked for Mammen Motors in Storm Lake. In 1965, he went back to work for Grau Motors in Newell until 1975. Then, he worked for Buena Vista County in the maintenance garage from 1975 until 1987 when he “retired.” Next, he went to work for Hansen Motors in Sac City for a short while. In 1988, he started spraying ditches for Buena Vista County. He served on the city council in Newell for twenty years and three terms as an Elder at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Newell. Each term lasted three years. In addition, he served on the Buena Vista Solid Waste Commission at the recycle plant in Storm Lake from 1982 until 2014, twice as the American Legion Commander, and for a few years as the VFW Commander.

Dave's greatest joy came from spending time with his family. He loved getting together with whom he could to attend his grandchildren’s and great-grandchildren’s events. He enjoyed having breakfast with the guys on Wednesday and Saturday mornings. In addition, he, thoroughly, enjoyed playing golf for many years with whomever he could find to play. He spent many winter vacations in Arizona staying with his daughter, Colleen. His favorite pastimes included playing cards, dice, or Chicken-foot dominoes. Dave never met a stranger. He had a knack of striking up a conversation with people he had never met before, and he became a friend for life.

Preceding him in death were his parents; his son, Steven; his wife, Irene; an infant granddaughter, Kerri Sangwin; his brothers, Harold and John; his sister, Florence Wiley; his daughter, Cheryl Bruns, in January of 2015; and son, Mark, in April of 2015; his sisters-in-law: Beth, Evelyn, and Kathryn; and his brother-in-law, Richard Anderson, and his wife, Maynette.

He is survived by his children: Colleen (Dan) Marchant, of Buckeye, Arizona, Beverly (Paul) Sangwin, of Aurelia, Iowa, Michael Wiley, of Cherokee, Iowa, Barbara (Dean) Phillips, of Alta, Iowa, and Christine Tomford, of Early, Iowa; his brother-in-law, Omar Burkgren, of Mason City, Iowa; his grandchildren: Scott (Liz) and Sonny (Tracy) Bruns; Joseph (Freedom) Bunkers; Angela and April DeWall; Lindsay (Chris) Handy; Bradley Jorgen; Josh and Justin Phillips; Andrew, Kim, and Matt Sangwin; Stacy (Jeff) Talbott; Tiffany (Jeff) Titus; David (Amy) and Greg (fiancée, Lindsay) Wiley, and Melanie (Carl) Young; and twenty-four great grandchildren; as well as many nieces, nephews, and friends.

He will be greatly missed by all who ever had the pleasure of knowing him.

Funeral services will be held Tuesday, August 25, 2015, at 2:30 p.m. at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Newell. Burial will follow in the Newell Cemetery with full military rites by the Newell American Legion Post #193. Visitation will take place Monday, August 24, 2015, from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. with the family present from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Newell. The Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Newell is in charge of the arrangements.

Copyright © 2015, Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Homes

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