Komarek, Dennis Clarence 1949 - 2021

KOMAREK, KALISHEK, DRAGO, BALES

Posted By: Joy Moore (email)
Date: 10/15/2021 at 12:05:59

Dennis Clarence Komarek, age 72 of Protivin, Iowa, died Sunday, October 10, 2021, at the Manor Care Facility in Waterloo.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held 10:30 Friday October 15, 2021 at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Protivin. Interment will be in the church cemetery with military honors.

Friends may greet the family 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m., Thursday, October 14th at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Protivin. Visitation will continue one hour prior to the Mass on Friday at the church.

Services are entrusted to Hugeback Johnson Funeral Home and Crematory.

Dennis Clarence Komarek was born August 26, 1949, in Cresco, IA, the son of Clarence and Grace (Kalishek) Komarek. He was the oldest of the couple's five children and grew up on a farm outside of Protivin. HIs love for the land began on that family farm, where in addition to helping his parents in the fields, he also helped milk cows and tend to the family's pigs and chickens.

He attended school at Rudolphinum Catholic School in Protivin and was a member of the school's last graduating class in 1968.
After graduation, Dennis worked at Farmers Mill in Protivin before being inducted into the U.S. Army. He received his basic training at Fort Polk, Louisiana, and his boot training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Denny was sent to Vietnam, where he was assigned to the 3-A Division Airborne Artillery near Ashu Valley, located in the northern part of South Vietnam. Denny also was a temporary truck driver and helped with ammunition and fire missions, and he served his country in Vietnam from January 18, 1970, to March 18, 1971. Denny remained in the Army until 1979. He achieved the rank of Specialist Fourth Class and received the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Service Medal with two overseas bar, the Army Commendation Medal and the Marksman M14 and M16 citations.

After he was honorably discharged, he returned home to farm with his brother Merle, and for more than 40 years, the brothers worked the land that had been in both their father's and mother's families.

Denny loved farming; there was no better day for him than to till the land that his family had worked long before he was born. He and Merlin farmed together for most of their lives — starting when they were kids — and they never got into a fight. They represented the epitome of a perfect partnership.

They took over the family farms in the 1980s, and that was a decade in which farmers faced innumerable challenges, yet they made it work. The brothers both took jobs at Sara Lee in New Hampton, which made for some long days and nights in the spring and fall, but they never complained.

Denny was a member of the American Legion post in Protivin, and he also enjoyed a good euchre game — often stopping in Jerico after a long day to play some cards with his buddies.

He was exposed to Agent Orange during Vietnam, which led to a number of health problems, but he fought not to be classified as totally disabled because then he wouldn't be able to work with his brother on the land they both loved.

Denny will be missed dearly by those that knew and loved him, but he will be remembered for the love he showed his country for the service in Vietnam and the love of farming he showed throughout his life.

Survivors include two brothers, Merlin Komarek of Lawler and Alvin (Deb) Komarek of Tulsa, OK; two sisters, Patti Drago of Protivin and Terrie (Phil) Bales of Tulsa, OK. He was preceded in death by his parents and a brother in infancy.

Source: Hugeback Funeral Home database

Holy Trinity Cemetery
 

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