Final Salute

John Dale McCurdy Obituary

Des Moines – John Dale McCurdy, 102, left for his eternal home on September 24, 2019. He was born in Gibson, Iowa on February 14, 1917. In 1934 he graduated from Gibson High School. He was married to Elsie Weilbrenner (McCurdy) for 52 years, who passed away in 1992.

John was a WWII Navy Seabees veteran, serving in the South Pacific in Guadalcanal, Bougainville, and Guam. After returning he rejoined the construction profession – and retired in 1972. In May of this year, John was honored for 80 years of membership in the Carpenters Union Local 106. No other person in the U.S. or Canada has received such an award.

John was a servant for Christ, and built many pieces of beautiful furniture as a labor of love for his church. He was a charter member of Westover Baptist Church, served as Chairman of the Trustees, and continued to serve as an usher.

He was preceded in death by his wife Elsie, mother Maime Dalkater, father Ernest McCurdy, and three brothers, Haskel, Roscoe (Mike), and Cecil.

Left to remember him are many nieces and nephews. Although, John did not have children of his own, he was known as “Uncle John” to several thousand students in Texas, where he gave presentations for seven years about his experiences in WWII.

He was a blessing and inspiration to all and will be truly missed.

Funeral services will be held 10:00 a.m., Friday, at Westover Baptist Church, 2330 62nd St, Des Moines. Visitation will be one hour prior to the funeral service. Burial will be at Sunset Memorial Gardens in Des Moines. Memorials may be directed to Westover Baptist Church in memory of John.