Smutzer, Donald F., Sr. 1920-2007

SMUTZER, DENNING, VANTUYL

Posted By: Mary Holub, volunteer (email)
Date: 2/29/2008 at 20:34:10

KINGSLEY, Iowa -- Donald F. Smutzer Sr., 87, of Kingsley passed away Friday, Dec. 7, 2007, at Correctionville Nursing and Rehab Center at Correctionville, Iowa.

Memorial services will be 11 a.m. Friday at the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Sioux City. Burial will be in Memorial Park Cemetery, Sioux City. Arrangements are under the direction of Rohde- Earnest Funeral Home in Kingsley.

Donald Francis Smutzer Sr. was born March 5, 1920, in Ft. Madison, Iowa. He was the eighth of 10 children born to John William and Margaret (Denning) Smutzer. Donald received his primary education at the first organized school in Iowa, Brush College.

On Sept. 28, 1939, he married Dorothy May Van Tuyl of Danville, Iowa. To this union four children were born, Donald Jr., Donna, Charles and John. The couple lived in or near Burlington, Iowa, until 1955, when they moved to Sioux City. In the early 1960s, they moved to Council Bluffs, Iowa. Donald worked most of his life operating heavy equipment or driving trucks until the early 1960s, when he joined Union Pacific Railroad as an electrician. In 1982, Donald retired from the railroad, and the couple moved to Kingsley, where Dorothy died Oct. 19, 1998.

On Sept. 10, 2000, he married Gertrude Sears in Council Bluffs, where they made their home until they relocated to Correctionville Nursing and Rehab. in Correctionville.

Survivors include his wife, Gertrude; four children, Donald Jr. (Judy) of Kingsley, Donna (Gary) Parker of Glenwood, Iowa, Charles (Sharon) of Hattiesburg, Miss., and John (Karon) of Austin, Texas; 12 grandchildren, Donita Smutzer, Kevin (Jackie) Smutzer, Tim Smutzer, Vanessa (Scott) Johnson, Melody Summers, Rodney (Melissa) Smutzer, Richard (Julie) Smutzer, Russell (Brenda) Smutzer, Shannon (Troy) McFarland, Nathan Smutzer, Matthew (Heather) Smutzer and Michael (William) Woods; 19 great-grandchildren; and six great-great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his first wife, Dorothy; his parents; and nine brothers and sisters.

~Source: The Sioux City Journal, Dec. 23, 2007