Donald Van Dee

DONALD VAN DEE

Cedar Rapids

Donald Stephan Van Dee, 81, was born Nov. 10, 1933, near Williamsburg, to Augustine and Margaret (Holderness) Van Dee, He died Monday, Nov. 17, 2014, at his home. He retired from Collins Radio Company and Midwest Metal Products. He served his country in the U.S. Army from Feb. 8, 1951 to Feb. 7, 1954. He was a Korean War veteran, serving with the 194th combat engineers for 18 months. He earned a Korean Service Medal with three battle stars, a UN Service Medal with two O/S bars, National Defense Service Medal, Republic of Korea Presidential Citation and a U.S. Presidential Citation with a Silver Star.

He was united in marriage to Jean Marie Croy on Dec. 19, 1953, in Williamsburg, Iowa. To this union five children were born. They were divorced Oct. 18, 1964.

He married Elizabeth Kauffman on March 29, 1969, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, They had two children and they retired to Buffalo, Mo., in 1996. Don enjoyed hunting deer with his sons and nephews, fishing and making woodcrafts the he shared with family and friends and watching the birds around his home. He worked with Habitat for Humanity in Buffalo, helping build several homes and numerous wheelchair ramps for people in need. Don was a member of St. Williams Catholic Church in Buffalo.

He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth (Liz), who still resides in Buffalo; three sons, David (Lisa) of Lake Ozark, Mo., Donny of Cedar Rapids and Shawn (Karen) of Cedar Rapids; four daughters, Deborah Buck (Edward House) of Sacramento, Calif., Diana Nissen (Bryan) of Cedar Rapids, Linda Stahlberg (Shane) of Grand Rapids, Minn., and Tamara Van Dee (Kevin Taylor) of Ankeny; a stepson, Rich Menadue of Chariton; also 12 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

Don is also survived by three brothers, Edward (Wanda) of Marion, Mike (Beverly) of Cedar Rapids and Carl (Sandy) of Corvallis, Ore., there are also five sisters, Mary Brown of Cedar Rapids, Betty McGee of Marshalltown, Florence Moellers (Robert) of Cedar Rapids, Sara Martens of Shellsburg and Helen Mendenhall of Cedar Rapids.

He is also survived by a sister-in-law, Betty Van Dee of Vining; a brother-in-law, Fred Hotchkiss, Texas; and many loving nieces and nephews.

Don was preceded in death by two brothers, John and Andy; two sisters, Ida Mahan and Grace Hotchkiss; and one granddaughter.

Funeral Mass: 10 a.m. Thursday at St. Ludmila Catholic Church. Burial: Cedar Memorial Park Cemetery. A visitation will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Cedar Memorial Westside Chapel, where a rosary will be held at 7 p.m.