Donald Fleming (1926-2018)

FLEMING, WEATHERMAN, BATEY, FIELDS, BALDREE, BESSMAN

Posted By: Mark Christian
Date: 5/17/2021 at 16:53:12

From Fredregill Family Funeral Home obituary, Collins and Zearing, Story County, Iowa:

Donald "Don" Fleming, 92, of Zearing, passed away with his loving wife, Mary Lou, Pastor Tom Poppy, and Tim and Brenda Gogerty by his side at the Israel Family Hospice House in Ames, Iowa on Monday, March 26, 2018. A memorial visitation will be held on Tuesday, April 3, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. in the Bethel United Methodist Church in Zearing, Iowa. A memorial service will immediately follow the visitation and will begin at 11:00 a.m. Burial will take place in the Lincoln Township Cemetery.

Don was born on January 12, 1926 in Williams, Iowa to Walter and Birdee Mae (Weatherman) Fleming. After the death of his Mother he and his siblings went to live with close family and friends. Don was raised in Zearing by the Couser family. He attended Zearing High School and graduated with the class of 1944. Immediately after graduation Don enlisted with the Army Air Corps and went on to serve his country during WWII. He served with the 478th Army Air Force, Service Squadron, in the Asiatic Pacific Theater of Operations, near Tokyo, Japan, for 5 months. He was chief clerk in the office of the base engineer overseeing staff and gasoline consumption. After the war Don returned home to Zearing where he worked various jobs until 1953. Don then became an insurance agent. He opened his own business in Zearing and began selling insurance for American Family Insurance and Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance. On May 29, 1955 Don married the love of his life, Mary Lou Preston in Melbourne, Iowa. The couple resided in Zearing where Don continued to run his business until his retirement from the insurance business in 1985. For the next 4 years Don worked as a rural mail route carrier until he fully retired in 1989. Mary Lou and Don then began wintering in Arizona. Don was always active in the Zearing community and was a member of the Bethel United Methodist Church where he served on the Church Board, he served on the Zearing Park Board, Senior Housing Board, the Zearing Business Men's Association, the Town and Country Association, and was a member of the Zearing American Legion Post #116. He enjoyed music, art and drawing, bowling, golfing, bicycling, hiking, making walking sticks, working in his yard, gardening, and cheering on the Iowa Hawkeyes and New York Yankees.

Those left to cherish his loving memory are his wife of 62 years Mary Lou Fleming of Zearing, IA; sisters Iola (Robert) Batey of Mt. Pleasant, IA, and Phyllis (Harvey) Fields of Boone, IA; brother Robert (Pat) Fleming of Ft. Gay, WV; and many nieces, nephews, and close friends.

Don was preceded in death by his parents, brothers Howard, Eugene, Lester, DeLos, Everett, and Birch, sisters Opal Baldree, and Dorothy Bessman.

Memorial contributions may be directed to the family.

Fredregill Funeral & Cremation Care has been entrusted with the care of Don and his family.

http://www.fredregillfunerals.com/
 

Story Obituaries maintained by Mark Christian.
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