Daniel Herbert Wiedemeier passed away at 08:05 a.m. on April 19, 2022, at
Southeast Iowa Regional Hospice House. Mr. Wiedemeier was born on
October 11, 1938, in Burlington, Iowa. He was the son of the late
Herbert and Nola Wiedemeier.
In 1959, he married Ruth Jane Hunt. He later married Marcia Holmes Marshall in 1988.
He graduated from Burlington High School in 1956. He attended
Burlington Junior College for one year and graduated from the State
University of Iowa with his bachelor’s degree in business administration
in 1960. He did graduate work at Carlton College, Northwestern
University, Michigan State and the University of Nebraska. He served in
the United States Army National Guard for eight years.
His professional career began with the then Bell System in 1960. He
later was transferred to Mountain States Telephone and Telegraph in
Denver, Colorado. When the Bell System was divested, he was transferred
to American Telephone and Telegraph. During his almost 30-year tenure in
the communication industry, he was transferred to 14 different cities.
He was Vice President and Chief Executive Officer for South Dakota. Vice
President and General Manager for Colorado, Regional Vice President for
AT&T in Denver, Corporate Vice President- Human Resources AT&T
New York, and retired as Vice President – Federal System AT&T in
Washington, D.C. in 1987, and moved back to his beloved Iowa and
Burlington.
After two years of retirement, he joined Farmers and Merchants Bank.
He retired from the bank in 2000. He has since worked on a part time
basis with Lunning Chapel.
He loved his family and enjoyed being with his children and
grandchildren. He enjoyed golf, spending time at the river cottage
fishing. He was an avid aviation enthusiast and private pilot.
Dan has always been active in the communities where he has lived.
In 1994, he was appointed by Governor Branstad to the Iowa Transportation
Commission and served as its Chair in 2000-2001. He is a past president
or chair of the following organizations: Southeast Council-Boy Scouts
of America, Civic Music Association, Des Moines County Conservation,
Messiah Lutheran Church Council and Burlington Kiwanis Club, Board of
Great River Medical Center, Airport Authority.
He was a strong supporter of the United Way and Junior Achievement,
working as a volunteer for over 45 years. Awards of recognition seemed
to follow Dan everywhere. His most treasured were the Boy Scout
Distinguished Citizen Award and the Burlington Chamber Emmy Award,
presented in Burlington. He loved his country, Iowa, and always served
to improve his community wherever he happened to live.
He is survived by his wife, Marcia; two children, Bradford of Elbert,
Colorado, and Jane Hill, of Green Way Village, Colorado; one sister, Delores
Harken of Landsdale, Pennsylvania; and three grandchildren.
Dan was preceded in death by his parents and his son, Todd.
Surely Dan has already assumed his position as “Chairman of the Board” hereafter.
The funeral service for Mr. Wiedemeier will be 2:00 PM, Saturday,
April 23, 2022, at Messiah Lutheran Church in Burlington, with
Reverends Ryan Cosgrove and Dean Graber officiating. Interment will be
at Aspen Grove Cemetery. Family will receive friends from 12:30 until
time of service. Friends may call Friday, April 22, 2022, at Lunning
Chapel from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Military rites will be conducted by
the Iowa National Guard.
In lieu of flowers, memorials have been established for Hope Haven and the Des Moines County Humane Society.