Obituary of David Then

David R. "Eldee" Then, 58, of St. Catherine, Iowa and formerly of Balltown, Iowa, died Wednesday, July 18, 2012, as a result of injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident near Dubuque, Iowa. Friends may call from 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Monday, July 23, 2012, at Kramer Funeral Home in Holy Cross where service will be held at 2:00 p.m. Burial will be at the Holy Cross Cemetery. Dave was born January 14, 1954, in Dubuque, Iowa, the son of Henry and Lauretta (Sauser) Then. He attended Western Dubuque Schools from 1960 to 1972. He married Debbie K. Vorwald on October 8, 1977, in Holy Cross. Together they raised their family on a hobby farm in the Balltown area. Dave was the owner and operator of his own business for several years. For the last eight years he was a rural route delivery driver with the Telegraph Herald and the Dubuque Advertiser. Dave enjoyed and took pride in collecting and restoring antique tractors and participating in tractorcades, tractor pulling, and county fair displays. He had numerous other collectibles in which he took pride. He enjoyed spending time with his children and grandchildren. Grandpa Boomer, as his grandchildren called him, would often be found building forts, giving rides on the riding lawn mower, and sharing a large bowl of ice cream. Dave will be sadly missed and forever loved by his wife, Debbie; three children: Lisa Then of Dubuque, Nikki (Nick) Steger of Worthington and Travis (fiance' Manda Gronemus) Then of Dyersville; five grandchildren: Connor and Traven Then, Breelle and Eli Steger, and Colton Gronemus, and one grandchild due in March; his mother-in-law, Dorrie Vorwald of Holy Cross, a sister-in-law, Linda (Stanley) Steffen of Luxemburg, two brothers-in-law: David (Mari) Vorwald of Dyersville, Donnie (Julie) Vorwald of Holy Cross; his beloved dog and faithful companion, Boomer, numerous nieces and nephews, four brothers and one sister. He was preceded in death by his parents and a brother, Richard, his father-in-law, Gene Vorwald, and a brother -in-law, Mark Vorwald. The family of Dave would like to thank the Dubuque and Peosta Emergency Responders and the entire Finley Hospital Emergency Room Trauma Department for their quick response and for their skilled and compassionate care. Let's don't say goodbye. I hate the way it sounds. So if you don't mind, let's just say for now, see you when I see you, another place, some other time. I'll see you when I see you, until then my prayers are with you. His memory will live on through the eyes of others through tissue donation.