Wayne Gambill, 87, of Fort Dodge, died Tuesday, July 17, 2012 at the Marian Home.
A memorial mass will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, August 4, 2012 at Corpus Christi Catholic Church with the Rev. Joe Dillinger officiating. There will be no visitation since Wayne's wish was for cremation. Military rites by VFW Post 1856 will follow the conclusion of the church service. Gunderson Funeral Home & Cremation Services is in charge of arrangements.
Survivors include a son, Eric W. and wife Kathy of Lehigh; grandchildren, Bryan (Amber), Cynthia, Eric & Louan Gambill; step-grandchildren, Jennifer, Jamie (Mindy) & Jacob Simmons; a great-granddaughter Paige Gambill and a great-grandson Brylie Thomas. He was preceded in death by his wife Louan, in 1995, his parents and two brothers as well as his 19 year old cat Bear, in 2005.
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WAYNE GAMBILL
Wayne was born January 18, 1925 at Independence, Kansas where he was reared. He entered the U.S. Army upon completion of the eleventh grade and served from 1943 to 1946. In May 1944 he voluntarily transferred to the infantry where he served in the European Theater with the 42nd Rainbow Division, receiving the Combat infantryman's Badge and the Bronze Star. He married Louan Hunt on August 30, 1946. The couple lived in Logan, Utah from 1947 to 1950 and Wayne earned a Bachelor of Science in Commerce (Social Work) at Utah State. The couple lived in Toledo, Ohio for ten years and Wayne was employed with the Family Court Center until enrolling in graduate school. While in Toledo, he was a member of The Old Newsboys of Toledo, a fund raising group, organized by Danny Thomas and The Toledo Blade Newspaper. He received a Masters Degree at the University of Notre Dame. Wayne was employed at Iowa Children's & Family Services for 22 years, retiring in 1987. He was one of four men in the community who initiated a program through the YMCA which eventually became known as the Y-Pals program. He was a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1856 as well as a life member of the Gardeners of America, having served five terms as president of the Men's Garden Club of Fort Dodge and Fort Dodge Area Gardeners. He was a longtime member of Fort Dodge/Phil Fox Chapter of Izaak Walton League of America.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Corpus Christi Foundation, P.O. Box 994, Fort Dodge, IA 50501.