Donald "Don" Lake, 96, formerly of Le Mars, Iowa, passed away Friday, August 18, 2023, at Whispering Creek Assisted Living in Sioux City, Iowa.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, September 8th, at St. John's Lutheran Church in LeMars with Rev. Christian Meier officiating.  Visitation will begin at 10:00 a.m. at the church with a time of lunch and fellowship following the service. Military honors will be provided by the Wasmer American Legion Post 241 of LeMars. Private family internment was held previously at Hillside Cemetery in Merrill, Iowa. Arrangements are by Rexwinkel Funeral Home in Le Mars.  Expressions of sympathy can be extended to the family through www.rexwinkelfh.com.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be directed to the LeMars Public Library or the Plymouth County Fair.

Donald James Lake, the son of Eldon and Ellen (Easton) Lake, was born December 10, 1926, on the family farm near Merrill, Iowa.  He was baptized and confirmed at the Merrill United Methodist Church.

Don attended school in Merrill where he played basketball and the flute in high school and was valedictorian of his graduating class. At the age of 17, he started college at the University of South Dakota where he also played basketball.  At age 18, he enlisted in the United States Navy. After returning home, he earned his pilot's license and attended classes at Iowa State University.

On August 10, 1952, Don married Joyce Peters and they had four daughters: Barbara, Carol, Dianne, and Nancy. He farmed his family farm for 31 years, until his retirement in 1983 when they moved to Le Mars. After selling the farm to his daughter Dianne and son-in-law Joe, Don worked for Toy National Bank in Sioux City doing trusts and estate planning. He continued to help on the farm through his early 90's. Joyce passed away in 2001.  Don later married Dolores Eberhard Sitzmann and they lived in Le Mars until November 2021, when they moved to Whispering Creek Assisted Living in Sioux City.

Don and Joyce were members of St. John's Lutheran Church in Le Mars where he sang in the church choir and served as congregational president.  Don was active in the NWIA Farm Business Association, 4-H Foundation, Extension Council, LeMars School District Foundation, and Plymouth County Farm Bureau.  Don was a Rotary Club member for over 25 years, managing their ice cream store at the Plymouth County Fair for many of those years. He was an avid reader his whole life. He loved experimenting and innovation, making a homemade tractor sprayer, developing a weed wiper, and building his own hog confinement buildings.  Don and Joyce loved to travel in their retirement years, especially enjoying Elderhostel trips with friends Norm and Ruth Barker.

Survivors include his wife, Dolores of Sioux City, IA; 4 children: Barb (Ken) Becicka of Central City, IA, Carol (Mick) Snell of Hampton, IA, Dianne (Joe) Rotta of Merrill, IA, and Nancy (Brian) Balm of Phoenix, AZ; 6 step children: Suzanne Wiltgen of Sioux City, IA, Larry (Bev) Sitzmann of Sioux Falls, SD, Arnie (Deb) Sitzmann of Grayston, GA, Carl (Jayne) Sitzmann of West Des Moines, IA, Jody (Gina) Sitzmann of Sioux City, IA, and Rosalie (John) Vollmar of Eagan, MN; 10 grandchildren: Troy (Deanna) Becicka, Todd (Meredith) Becicka, Ryan (Sarah) Snell, Jared (Serah) Snell, Andrew (Emily) Rotta, Lynnae (Michael) Dykstra, Melissa Rotta, Kelli (Curt) Hood, Alex (Alie) Balm, and Taylor Balm (fiancé, Mariah); 14 step grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; 29 step great-grandchildren; a brother: Stan (Lorraine) Lake of Sebring, FL; and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his first wife, Joyce and his sister, Marjorie (Leo) Jividen.