Harold "Deke" Jay Donald Obituary (1934

Harold "Deke" Jay Donald, 78 of Zearing passed away on May 29, 2013 at Mercy Hospital in Des Moines after a brief illness. Visitation will be at Fredregill Funeral Home in Zearing from 5-7 p.m. on Sunday June 2, 2013. Funeral mass will be on Monday, June 3, 2013 at 10 a.m. at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Colo with Father Rick Dagit officiating. Burial will follow at the Lincoln Township Cemetery in Zearing. Deke was born the son of Clark Lewis Donald and Willie Beatrice "Bea" Donald on July 15, 1934 near Seymour, Iowa. He graduated from Shipley High School in 1954. He then joined the Marines and served until 1956. Deke met his first wife Lynda Curley shortly after this in Ames. They married 2 days after her 18th birthday in 1958. Deke lived in Zearing and raised his family there. He was a volunteer firefighter for many years and enjoyed going to various water fights around the state. Deke also went to many of the fire conventions. He became a scout leader when is two sons were young and enjoyed many activities with scouts, including camping and fishing with the groups. He enjoyed classic cars and was a member of the Special Interest Auto Club. Deke and Lynda joined a pond club and enjoyed touring area homes with ponds. He started collecting 1:64 scale model semis and scoured many auctions, flea markets, and toy shows looking for just the right semi. He was very proud of his collection and enjoyed showing it to friends and family. Deke worked for many years at the Zearing Coop, a brief time at 3M, and then retired from the Coop in Colo. His retirement was brief before he began to work part-time at Ryersons in Nevada delivering equipment. He also did some carpentry work throughout the years and delivered LP. Surviving are his children, Chris (Mylinda) Donald, Tracy (Deb) Donald, and Joan (Ron) Hinders; grandchildren, April, Tyler, Aryn, and Paula; great-grandchildren, Audrey, Oliviah, Ryan, Jace, Jaron, Jesalyn, Jance, Jaxon; sisters JoeAnn Frohardt, Jayce Luing, Jan (Dick) Moon; brothers, James (Jean) Donald, and Jerry (Louise) Donald. He was preceded in death by his parents; wife; 2 infant sisters Juanita Donald, and Joan Donald. Memorial contributions may be directed to the family. Fredregill Funeral Home, in Zearing, has been entrusted with the care of Deke and his family.