Dale E. BRAND

BRAND, LOFFLER, KOHLHAAS

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 1/7/2007 at 15:22:21

August 5, 2004

Dale E. Brand, 90, formerly of Clarion, passed away Saturday, July 31, 2004, at Arbor Springs, a care facility in West Des Moines. Services will be held Thursday, August 5th at St. John's Catholic Church in Clarion. Father David Beckman will officiate at the 10:30 a.m. service. Interment will be held at St. John's Catholic Cemetery in Clarion. Visitation was Wednesday from 5-8 p.m. at the Ewing Dugger Funeral Home and one hour prior to services at the church.

Dale E. Brand was born April 10, 1914, the son of John and Minnie (Loffler) Brand in Wellsburg, Iowa. His family moved to Fort Dodge where Dale was raised and graduated from high school. He received his undergraduate degree at Cornell College and completed graduate studies at Drake University. In 1946, he married Betty Kohlhaas of Algona, and together they raised their family of seven children in Clarion. Dale was a state champion wrestler for Fort Dodge High School, an outstanding football player and a 1937 NCAA wrestling champion for Cornell College. He represented the United States on the 1936 Olympic Wrestling Team. Dale was a high school Social Studies teacher and wrestling coach in Clarion for 30 years. His teams compiled a record of 252-76-5, including 14 conference team championships and 23 individual state champions. Twenty-two of his former wrestlers went on to become coaches. Dale is a member of the Fort Dodge High School Hall of Fame, Cornell College Sports Hall of Fame, Iowa Athletic Association Coaches Hall of Fame, Iowa High School Athletic Association Wrestling Hall of Fame, was awarded the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Lifetime Service to Amateur Wrestling Award and was named Iowa High School Wrestling Coach of the Year in 1972. Dale spent four years in the military service during World War II, including combat service as a medical corpsman with the 3rd Armored Division. He was a parishioner of St. John's Catholic Church in Clarion and also St. Pius in Urbandale. He was active with the Clarion VFW Post (serving as president), the Boy Scout organization and the community swimming pool where he taught hundreds of Clarion youth how to swim. In addition, Dale was known by family and friends as one of the finest "catfishermen" in the state.

Dale is survived by four sons, Phil Brand and wife, Becky of Port Angeles, Washington, Tom Brand and wife, Kara of Crockett, California, Bill Brand and wife, Lana of Marshalltown, Bob Brand of Ottawa, Kansas; one daughter, Beth Harris and husband, Bill of Urbandale, six grandchildren; one great-grandson; and one brother, Darwin of Fort Dodge. He was preceded in death by his wife, Betty; two sons, Steven and Michael; three brothers, John, William and Donald; and one sister, Dalorise.

© Wright County Monitor 2004