Obituary of Daryl G. Strickland

Daryl Gene Strickland, 76, passed away peacefully on June 30, 2026, surrounded by his family. A devoted husband, loving father and grandfather, loyal friend, and proud Iowan, Daryl will be remembered for his integrity, his sly sense of humor, his curiosity about others, and the steady presence he brought to the lives of those who loved him.

Daryl was born January 10, 1950, in Lake City, Iowa, to Howard Franklin Strickland and Pauline Helen (McCoy) Strickland. The seventh of ten children, he grew up in the small community of Lanesboro, where everyone knew everyone and hard work was a part of life from an early age. He spent summers baling hay and building grain bins and worked alongside his father laying blacktop.

Daryl shared a special bond with his mother, Pauline, whose gentle nature meant a great deal to him. Her death when he was just 15 was a devastating loss, though it was one he rarely spoke about.

Years later, Daryl especially treasured the final summer he spent working alongside his father before Howard died at the beginning of Daryl’s freshman year of college. He would later describe it as the most meaningful time he had with his father.

Sports were a major part of Daryl’s youth. A standout athlete at Lake City High School, he competed in football, basketball, baseball, and track. He was a member of a school-record medley relay team whose mark still stands today. He graduated in 1968, remembered by classmates as a talented athlete and someone who was well liked by nearly everyone.

But the most important relationship of Daryl’s life began years earlier, when a shy girl named Susan Ringgenberg sat behind him in English class at Lake City Junior High. That summer, Susan watched Daryl play baseball, and afterward they walked around Lake City with mutual friends. The following fall, they attended a school dance together and began a relationship that would last for the rest of Daryl’s life.

Their lives became intertwined in ways neither could have anticipated. Daryl was just 15 when his mother died, and he later went to live with Susan’s family. During their junior year of high school, Daryl and Susan appeared together in the school play, where the young couple even shared an onstage kiss.

After graduating from high school, Daryl attended Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls before transferring to Northeast Missouri State University, now Truman State University. He graduated in 1972 after studying accounting and business. Even in college, Daryl found a way to turn one of his favorite pastimes into something practical, earning extra spending money playing cards—mostly euchre and bridge—with roommates, dorm mates, and fellow students.

Daryl and Susan married on July 2, 1972, in Lake City. They began married life in Dubuque, Iowa, where Daryl’s first job after college was with JCPenney. In December 1977, he began what would become a 26-year career with John Deere.

Daryl started in transportation, managing the logistics of moving John Deere equipment. A later position sent him into the field to repossess equipment, a job that produced some of the more colorful stories of his working years—including having a gun pointed at him twice and, on another occasion, being chased by a dog onto the roof of his car. He eventually moved into finance, where he spent most of his career, rising through the ranks and managing others.

The job took Daryl and his growing family across the country. Sons Chris and Nick were born in Dubuque in 1978 and 1980. The family moved to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in 1982; Conyers, Georgia, in 1984; and Clive, Iowa, in 1987, where they remained until Daryl’s retirement.

Daryl took pride in doing his job well and especially valued the people he met along the way. Many coworkers became lifelong friends. Once Daryl considered someone a friend, he made an effort to stay in touch, maintaining relationships across the years and miles. When the workday was over, however, his attention was on home and family.

As a husband and father, Daryl was faithful, loyal, thoughtful, practical, and dependable. He showed his love less through grand gestures than through providing, supporting, and showing up. He attended his sons’ sporting events and supported their interests. He became an enthusiastic follower of the University of Northern Iowa swim team when Chris competed for the Panthers. At Nick’s cross-country meets, Daryl was a fixture along the course, stopwatch around his neck, tracking every race. He also proudly supported the Dubuque Senior Rams girls basketball team when Susan served as an assistant coach.

Family trips were another way Daryl broadened his sons’ world. The family traveled to places including Washington, D.C., and Cancun, and Chris and Nick spent a memorable week at Space Camp. They made many trips to baseball games in Minneapolis and Kansas City. Daryl had a particular interest in presidential history and visited as many presidential libraries as he could.

He also loved to tease. Daryl called both of his sons “George,” inspired by George Foreman naming all of his sons George. He loved getting a rise or a chuckle out of people, and his playful teasing and sly sense of humor were familiar to everyone who knew him well.

Daryl retired from John Deere at the end of 2003, and on June 4, 2004, he and Susan moved to Calumet Grove in The Villages, Florida. There, after decades of work and several moves, they settled into more than 20 years of retirement together.

Daryl embraced retirement fully. Their home sat adjacent to a Nancy Lopez golf course, an ideal location for a man who would play golf four or five times a week whenever possible. He made it his mission to play the courses throughout The Villages as they opened and enjoyed neighborhood scrambles and rounds with friends, especially his friend Dave Storey. Over his lifetime, Daryl recorded an extraordinary five holes-in-one.

His love of golf took him beyond the course as well. He attended the Masters Tournament at Augusta National several times and once visited Pebble Beach. At home, he closely followed the professional game, admiring players including Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, and, more recently, Scottie Scheffler.

Retirement also gave Daryl and Susan time to travel, including many cruises with friends and family. But Daryl was equally happy at home, welcoming visitors to Florida and proudly showing them around The Villages.

A good day for Daryl often began with a physical newspaper. He followed the news, the stock market, and nearly every kind of sport, and he stubbornly resisted becoming too dependent on technology. He preferred paper documents he could hold in his hands. He was a lifelong and loyal fan of the Iowa Hawkeyes in every sport and also cheered for the Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, and Atlanta Braves. He admired Michael Jordan and became an enthusiastic fan of Caitlin Clark. He enjoyed motorsports as well, attending NASCAR races and the Brickyard 400 with his son Nick.

Daryl also enjoyed cooking for his family. His specialties included barbecue ribs, chili, steaks, chicken wings, roasts, and corned beef and cabbage. He loved card games, especially euchre, an interest that stretched back to his younger days in Lanesboro, when one of his favorite places to gather was Esther’s Filling Station, where he played cards with friends.

Those who knew Daryl will remember the familiar things: his mustache, his Iowa Hawkeye shirts, his opinions, and his determination to do things his own way. He could be stubborn, but he was not dogmatic. He was a rule follower with a deep sense of integrity, open to other points of view and genuinely interested in what others had to say.

Perhaps most of all, Daryl had a way of putting the focus on other people. He wanted to know how you were doing. He asked questions. He listened. He rarely made himself the center of attention. Friends and family could rely on him for thoughtful advice and an ability to see the bigger picture.

Daryl faced years of medical difficulties with courage and resilience. Through it all, he remained deeply loved and supported by his family. In his final days, Susan, Chris, and Nick were by his side. He died just two days before what would have been his and Susan’s 54th wedding anniversary, bringing to a close a love story that began with two shy junior high students walking around Lake City after baseball games.

Daryl is survived by his wife, Susan; his son Chris and Chris’s partner, Leah Dunn; his son Nick and Nick’s wife, Marnie Strate; and his grandson, Simon Strickland.

He is also survived by his siblings Karen (Strickland) Legore, Gerald (Wilma) Strickland, Jack (Gloria) Strickland, Randy Strickland, and Joni (John) Hepp; his sister-in-law Dee Strickland; and many nieces, nephews, extended family members, and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Howard and Pauline Strickland; his brothers Dick, Dennis, Gary, and Steve Strickland; his sister-in-law Audrey Strickland; and his brother-in-law Bob Legore.

For those who loved him, Daryl’s absence will be felt in countless ways: on the golf course, around the dinner table, during a Hawkeye game, in a familiar joke, and in the instinct to pick up the phone and ask his advice. What will be missed most is something simpler and harder to put into words—his steady presence.

A celebration of Daryl’s life will be held on September 25 at Union Church in Lake City, Iowa. Visitation will begin at 9:30 a.m., followed by the service at 10:30 a.m. A luncheon will be served afterward in the church fellowship hall. Following the luncheon, those who wish to attend are invited to join the family for Daryl’s interment at Lanesboro Cemetery.