S Sgt. Shane Marion Koele (1980-2005)

KOELE, POSTMA, DONNENWERTH, LONG, DEMKIW, RONS, HENDERSON, HERSOM

Posted By: obriencc (email)
Date: 2/17/2016 at 16:00:15

Shane was the son of Keith and Mary (Henderson) Koele. He attended school in the Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn school system, where he was a letterwinner in football, basketball and track. He went to state for track and played in three state football playoffs. He graduated from high school in 1998 and continued his education at Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa and Wayne State College in Wayne, Nebraska.
He joined the U.S. Army in January 2000, at the age of 20, and did his basic training and military police school at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. He also attended Primary Leadership Course, Basic Noncommissioned Officers Course, Airborne School and earned distinguished honor graduated. In March 2003, he began a tour of service in Iraq. Shane liked to compete, was a natural leader and a role model to many children. He was excited to be in the military, proud to be a part of the group helping to stop the poppy trade which supplied money to terrorists.
He married Cheryl Postma on September 5, 2003, at the United Methodist Church in Hartley. They lived in Kitzingen, Germany, where he was stationed with the 212th MP Company. Their daughter, Kiley Ann, was born in 2004. They resided in Germany until March 8, 2005, when he left on his tour of duty in Afghanistan. Assigned to the 212th Military Police Company, Shane was killed only two days after arriving in Afghanistan.
He is survived by his wife and daughter; his mother, Mary and her husband, Mike Donnenwerth of Hartley; his father, Keith Koele and his wife, Darlene of Fonda, Iowa; two sisters, Stacie and her husband, Bill Long of Ruthven, Iowa and nephews, Austin and Alex, and Shannon Koele and her fiance, Alex Demkiw of Cincinnati, Ohio; grandmother, Hazel Rons of Hartley; grandfather, Harvey Henderson of Claremore, Okla.; and other relatives. He was preceded in death by his grandfather, Marion Koele; grandmother, Kathleen Henderson; and an aunt, Charmaine (Koele) Hersom.