Donald Laue

DONALD RICHARD LAUE

Cedar Rapids

Donald Richard Laue, 88,

of Cedar Rapids, died Friday, May 13, 2016, at Mercy Medical Center, Cedar Rapids. Funeral Mass: 10:30 a.m. Saturday, May 21, at St. Jude Catholic Church, Cedar Rapids, conducted by the Rev. Mark Reasoner. Visitation: 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday, before the Mass. There will be a time for sharing memories for Don from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, May 20, at Murdoch-Linwood Funeral Home & Cremation Service, 520 Wilson Ave. SW, Cedar Rapids. Graveside services following the funeral Mass at St. John's Cemetery.

Survivors include his children, Rick (Debbie) Laue of Marion, Diann (Allen) Morse of Covington, Donna O'Brien, Ron Laue and Denice (Paul) Sotzen, all of Cedar Rapids; 11 grandchildren, Lisa (Mike) Schmidt of Apple Valley, Minn., Joslyn Morse of Clearwater, Fla., Adriann (Micheal Herbert) Morse of Palo, Shannon Morse of Cedar Rapids, Falen (Tom Micka) Morse of North Liberty, Kevin (Raquel) O'Brien, Logan O'Brien, Maxwell and Robert Laue, Brennen and Kaeli Sotzen, all of Cedar Rapids; and 10 great-grandchildren, Rachel, Eric, Thomas, Hannah and Elizabeth Schmidt, Shayla Morse, Milo and Maizie Hines, and two more future great-grandchildren on the way.

Don was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Adella (Shimak) Laue; and son, Robert Laue.

Donald was born Jan. 19, 1928. He was the only child of Richard and Anna (Wacha) Laue and was raised on a farm northeast of Lime Springs, Iowa. Each day he walked one mile to a one-room schoolhouse from kindergarten to eighth grade. There was no running water at home or at school. He then attended Lime Springs High School, where he lettered in football, basketball and baseball. Don joined the Navy right after high school. While waiting for his call, he worked for JM Cuffey Construction from Odessa, Texas, on the Standard Oil Pipeline.

After 10 weeks of boot camp in San Diego, Calif., he was transferred to storekeeper school for 10 weeks. Don then was stationed in San Diego, where he worked in the pay office department for two years. While on leave in October 1948, Don met his wife, Adella, at a dance at the Inwood Ballroom in Spillville. On Easter Sunday 1949, he shipped out to the Far East and ended up in Guam. Don performed his duties in the fire department as crew chief at NAS Agana. At this time, the Korean War broke out and he was extended for an extra year of service. While serving in Guam, he got to see Bob Hope perform with the USO. Don endured two typhoons and a scorpion sting.

On May 1, 1951, he was sent back to the states with the first group to go home in rotation. On June 27, 1951, Don and Adella Shimak were married at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church located in Protivin. After his leave he was sent to San Francisco, Calif., and was assigned to the USS St. Paul CA 73. This ship was featured in the film "In Harm's Way," starring John Wayne and Kirk Douglas. President Eisenhower was once a guest on the USS St. Paul and in October 1951, Don was discharged.

In November 1951, Don started working at Collins Radio. For 30 years he worked in Cedar Rapids. In 1976, Don and Adella celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary by taking a trip to Europe for two weeks. They traveled to Munich, Germany, and celebrated Oktoberfest. In December 1981, he was transferred to Melbourne, Fla., where he held the title of senior customer representative and order administrator. Don and Adella retired in Florida after 38 years of service in the sales division. They soon moved back to Cedar Rapids.

In 1994, Don was inducted into the LaSalle High School Hall of Fame. He belonged to the Knights of Columbus Council 5544, the VFW Post 788, and the American Legion Post 605, Protivin. He was a member of the St. Jude Catholic Layman's Club. Don bowled in league bowling for 35 years and entered tournaments in both Iowa and Florida. On Oct. 18, 2011, he made the Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., with his grandson, Brennen Sotzen. While there, Don got to meet and talk with Sen. Chuck Grassley.

Don enjoyed family dinners, listening to the Sunday Morning Czech Party on the radio, eating doughnuts and watching his favorite teams, the Chicago Cubs, the Washington Redskins, the Boston Celtics, and of course, the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Old sailors never die...they just sail away. Fair Winds. Following Seas.

Memorial contributions may be directed to the family.

While God will be tending to his soul...We'll be keeping his memories in our hearts!

Please share a memory of Don at www.murdochfuneralhome.com under obituaries.