Don Lewis

KALONA-Don Lewis, age 89, of Kalona, formerly of Riverside, died Saturday, February 14, 2026, at Halcyon House in Washington.

Don was born March 2, 1936, in Lynnville, Iowa, the son of Dean and Retha (Holdsworth) Lewis. As a young man he swept hair at a barber shop, helped install rotary phones and poured concrete. Upon graduation from Lynnville High School, Don joined the U.S. Army and served three years in Okinawa, Japan. He then graduated from Iowa Wesleyan College in Mt. Pleasant (where he was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011), the University of Iowa and Idaho State University. On December 20, 1958 he married Shirley Clark at the Palo United Methodist Church. Don and his family spent a year in Portier, France, where he coached and taught children of military personnel stationed there. Don then owned an insurance company in Baxter, Iowa for several years. In 1965 he became an educator at Highland Community School, where he served as a teacher, driver’s ed instructor, coach, Junior and Senior High Principal and Superintendent until 1989. From 1990 until 1994 he was the K-12 Principal at HLV Schools in Victor. Don coached the HLV football team from 1995 until 1997, taking the team to State. Don was an educator and friend to many. In retirement he enjoyed driving tractors on Kent and Rhonda’s farm. 

Don and Shirley were longtime members of Trinity United Methodist Church in Riverside. The bible verse he lived out daily was Psalm 118:24      This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Don’s greatest gift was putting others before himself, both at home and work. He loved children. It was not unusual to see him trying to rock a baby to sleep (even when it wasn’t nap time!), playing with a toddler on the floor (even in his ‘80's) or playing ball with his kids and grand kids. Spending time with family was very important to Don. Not only did kids love him, but animals did too! He enjoyed taking dogs to Casey’s for a ride. He also enjoyed traveling out West to the mountains, sports, the Iowa Hawkeyes (knot-hole tickets at Kinnick in the ‘60's and season tickets for decades), hunting, mowing the lawn and wintering in Florida.

Survivors include his wife: Shirley; three children: Rhonda (Kent) Yoder, Deb Lewis and Todd Lewis; four grandchildren: Chad (Tiffany) Yoder, Kyle (Celeste) Yoder, Jake (Cheyanne) Lewis and Molly (Mario) Barnes; six great grandchildren: Luke, Owen and Adam Yoder, Manning and Boone Yoder and Corbyn Lewis; three sisters: Mille VanSoelen, Phyl (Bruce) Bierle and Dot Zylstra and brother-in-law: Byron (Norma) Clark.

He was preceded in death by his parents; in-laws: George and Marie Clark; sister: Bettie (Cliff) Anthony; brother: Bob (Rae) Lewis; sister-in-law: Pat (Glen) Ament and brothers-in-law: Clair VanSoelen and Denny Zylstra.

A memorial visitation will be held from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 21, 2026, at Yoder-Powell Funeral Home in Kalona. Burial will be at a later date at Woodlawn Cemetery in Lynnville.

A general memorial fund has been established. Yoder-Powell Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Kalona is caring for Don and his family. Tributes and stories may be shared at www.powellfuneralhomes.com.