Donald R. Yohe
Donald Robert Yohe, 95, of Gilbert, Ariz. passed away March 30, 2015 in Chandler, Ariz.
A memorial service was held Saturday, April 4, at Falconer Funeral Home, Gilbert, Ariz.
Donald was born on Oct. 29, 1919, in Clayton to George and Elsie (Luther) Yohe. He was raised on the family farm near the Mississippi River in Clayton and graduated from Guttenberg High School. He served in the Civilian Conversation Corps and for over four years in the United States Army during World War II as a training sergeant in California and later in the Italian Campaign. After the War, he farmed, played minor league baseball, and then attended Bethany Lutheran College, Mankato State University, and the University in Northern Iowa.
Donald was a long-time educator who taught and coached in Waterville and Fort Thomas, Ariz. He served as a high school principal in Hansell for two years, Ackley for eight years and Colfax for 15 years. During many summers, he worked as a crop hail adjuster and traveled around the Midwestern states working with farmers and local insurance agents. Donald and Mary retired to Tempe, Ariz. in 1989, lived in Gold Canyon, Ariz., and finally in Gilbert, Ariz. where he received care from his daughter, Aletha DeRonde, and her family.
He belonged to the Colfax-Mingo Alumni Association, Colfax Historical Society, Jones-Willis American Legion Post 175, the Camp Roberts Historical Museum Foundation, and was a former president of the Colfax Kiwanis Club.
He is survived by his children, Ralph (fiancée, Mia), Bernie, Aletha DeRonde (husband, James), Dean (wife, Nikki), and Roger (wife, Karen); 19 grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren.
He is preceded in death by his wife of 66 years, Mary Yohe; son, Dennis; parents; brothers, Morrell, Eugene, Virgil (infant); sisters, Phyllis Schute, Irene Freese, Marcella Yohe (infant), and Katherine Clefisch.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Colfax-Mingo Educational Foundation, P.O. Box 52, Colfax, IA 50054.
