Delbert Deuane McQueen 1914 - 2005

DIXON, MCQUEEN, GRAHAM

Posted By: Connie Swearingen- Volunteer (email)
Date: 1/18/2019 at 20:29:12

Sioux City Journal
5 February 2005

SOLDIER, Iowa -- Delbert D. McQueen, 91, of Soldier died Monday, Jan. 10, 2005, at his residence.

Following cremation, burial will be at a later date in Milwaukee, Wis.

Delbert Deuane McQueen was born Jan. 7, 1914, in Winona, Minn. the first child of Frank Bert McQueen and Ellen Anne (Dixon) McQueen. The family later moved to Baraboo, Wis., where he and his six siblings grew up.

Naturally curious, with a love for reading, his youth was shaped by work on the family farm and on the local golf course, where he acquired a knowledge of and an appreciation for the game. Fascinated also with "fly'n machines", his interest in aviation became important when World War II began.

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps, serving three and one half years as a B-24 crew chief with the 424th Bomber Squadron. His military experience took him to a variety of Pacific Islands including, New Hebrides, New Guinea, Guadalcanal and Finchaven.

After his honorable discharge in 1945, he settled in Milwaukee, where he joined the Local Union 8 of the International Association of Bridge, Structural and Ornamental Iron Workers and made his career as a structural iron worker. He married Betty M. Graham and to their marriage two sons, Dennis and David, were born.

Del and his second wife, Elsie, were married in 1957. They made their home in Milwaukee. They enjoyed their families, worked and traveled as much as possible. When Elsie passed away in 1976, he retired and moved to Goodland, Fla. During the 24 years he lived there, he enjoyed fishing and crabbing with his brother, Don. He moved to Soldier in 2000.

Always a devoted family member, he especially enjoyed the annual McQueen reunion. He attended many golf tournaments, traveled extensively and also enjoyed cooking, crafting clocks and working crossword puzzles.

He is survived by his sons, David of Mill Valley, Calif., and Dennis and his wife, Linda, of Soldier; two granddaughters, Alice McQueen of Whiting, Iowa, and Megan McQueen of Sergeant Bluff; two brothers, Donald of Krum, Texas, and Robert of Columbia, S.C.; a sister, Irene Fitzgerald of Baraboo, Wis.; and many other family members and friends.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Elsie; his brother, Deuane; and sisters, Doris Rowe and Marian Davis.

Del was a man of wisdom, dignity and humor, who will always be loved, respected and missed.