Dale J. Tiefel 1921-2005

TIEFEL, DRESS, SCHROEDER, MEYER

Posted By: Cheryl Locher Moonen (email)
Date: 11/23/2016 at 22:20:44

Dale J. Tiefel, 84, of Dubuque, died at 5:55 a.m. Monday, Aug. 29, 2005, at Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Services will be at 10 a.m. Friday at Holy Trinity Catholic Church. Burial will be in Linwood Cemetery, where military rites will be accorded by the American Legion, Dubuque Post 6. Friends may call from 3 to 7 p.m. Thursday at Behr Funeral Home, 1491 Main St., where there will be a parish wake service at 3 p.m.

Mr. Tiefel worked as a construction superintendent for Fischer Investment Co. for 22 years until his retirement.

He was born on March 6, 1921, in Dubuque, son of Leo and Mary (Dress) Tiefel. He married Evelyn Schroeder on April 17, 1947, at St. Patrick's Catholic Church, Dubuque.

He was a Navy veteran of World War II and proudly served on the USS Houston. After the USS Houston was sunk, he spent four years as a prisoner of the Japanese. During this time as a prisoner of war, he was sent to several camps in southeast Asia. Dale worked on the Burma Railroad on the River Kwai. He was awarded many honors including a Purple Heart.

He was a member of Holy Trinity Catholic Church. He also was a member of the Ex-POW Club, the Disabled American Veterans, the USS Houston Survivors Club, the 131st Field Artillery Lost Battalion Association and the American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor, Inc.

He was an award-winning master carver with a special talent for carving birds and ducks. He was a member of the Woodcarvers of America.

He was a talented artist and a lover of nature; he liked spending time outdoors.

Dale especially enjoyed spending time with his family and delighted in teasing the great-grandchildren. A favorite activity was sharing lunch with family and special friends, then heading to the food court to visit with friends.

Surviving are his loving wife of 58 years, Evelyn Tiefel; a son, Rocky L. (Bonnie) Tiefel, of Dubuque; four grandchildren, Sean (Cyndi) Tiefel, Mark (Michelle) Tiefel, Rob Winders and Jenny (Benji) Meyer; six great-grandchildren, Kaitlyn, Lacy, Lauren, Emily, Kobe and Tyler; and special friends, Larry and Bobbi Wolff, of Dubuque.

He was preceded in death by a sister, Florence Snyder; and a brother, Eldon Tiefel.

A Dale J. Tiefel Memorial Fund has been established.

Telegraph Herald (Dubuque, IA) - Wednesday, August 31, 2005