Obituary of Don Eckard

Services for Mr. Donald Eckard, 69, of Milford will be Saturday, January 18, 2014 at 10:30 AM at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Milford, Iowa. Burial will be at Milford Cemetery. Visitation will take place Friday, January 17, 2014 after 4:00 PM with the family present from 5-7 PM at Union Memorial Church in Milford Iowa. Donald Lee Eckard, the son of Rowena (Bruns) and Elmer Eckard, was born June 29, 1944, in Vernon, Texas. On April 2, 1965, Don was united in marriage to Dianna Lee (Solbeck) Eckard in Milford, Iowa. Don was a lifetime resident of Milford, with the exception of one year when he lived in Yakima, Washington. He was very proud to be a part of the Milford High School Class of 1962, the last class to graduate from the old Milford High School. He was a small business owner prior to working for the Dickinson County Conservation for twenty-six years. Don's priority was his family. Supporting his sons and grandchildren in all of their activities brought him great joy. He was an active member of the Milford Fire Department for thirty-three years and served as the chief for thirteen years. He served for forty years on the Milford Park Board, was a charter member of the Dickinson County Trails Association, a co-founder of the U of O Campus Bike Ride and was a life long member of the Union Memorial Church. He was involved in little league, boy scouts, Jaycee's, Pioneer Days, Milford Centennial and was an avid bicyclist and craftsman. Don passed away Wednesday, January 15, 2014, of multiple systems failure at sixty-nine years of age. He is survived by his wife, Dianna Eckard of Milford; four sons, Dr. Kurt and Theresa of Milford and their children, Cecilia, Mary, Clare, Peter, Matthew and Grace; Dr. Kevin of Edwards, Colorado; Douglas and Amy of Overland Park, Kansas; Daniel and Nancy of Edwards, Colorado, and daughter, Brianna; sister, Lois Kohns; brothers, Larry (Judy) and Marvin; sister-in-law, Louise; mother-in-law, Helen Dodd; sisters-in-law, Donna (Nick) Kathman and Heidi (Bill) Triplett; several nieces and nephews. Don was preceded in death by his parents; brother, Robert; brother-in-law, Richard Kohns; sister-in-law, Alice Eckard; father-in-law, Jesse Solbeck and niece, Jennifer Ruzicka.