Donald "Don" Bontrager

1943 - 2019

DONALD "DON" DEAN BONTRAGER Cedar Rapids Donald "Don" Dean Bontrager, 76, of Cedar Rapids, passed away in the comfort of his home on Sunday, Oct. 13, 2019, after battling a rare form of leukemia. A visitation will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17, at Murdoch-Linwood Funeral Home & Cremation Service, 520 Wilson Ave. SW, Cedar Rapids. Funeral services will be at at 10 a.m. Friday, Oct. 18, at the funeral home. A celebration of Don's life will follow. Interment will follow in the family plot at Memory Gardens Cemetery in Iowa City. Born on Aug. 3, 1943, in Iowa City, he was the son of Cecil and Mary (Yoder) Bontrager. Don graduated from City High School in Iowa City and joined the U.S. Navy, where he served from 1963-67 as an SFM2 (petty officer 2nd class), and was a veteran of the Vietnam War. He married Lillian and later divorced. Don married Ruth Zach on Aug. 22, 1981, at Palisades-Kepler State Park in Mount Vernon. Don was a sheet metal specialist and inspector for Cherry Burrell Co. for 34 years and retired in 1999. He was a member of the VFW Post No. 788, American Legion and Freedom Foundation. He was grateful to join an Eastern Iowa Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., in May of this year, as well as receive a Quilt of Valor. Don enjoyed fishing, song writing, bowling, camping, hunting, coaching tee-ball, serving as scout leader and raising hunting dogs and horses in his younger years. He loved spending time with family and friends, and his time spent at the Freedom Foundation. Don will be forever remembered by his wife of 38 years; his daughters, Keri (Anthony) VanSant, Kala Bontrager and Kim Bontrager; sons, Todd (Kim) Bontrager and Tyler Bontrager; grandchildren, Jadasen, Ariana, Kiyah, Archer, Abel, Nick, Tony, Chad, Zach, Dalton, Bohemia, Lonesa, Dominique and Demetrius; 11 great-grandchildren; mother-in-law, Jean Zach; in-laws, Jim (Charlotte) Zach, Larry (Linda) Zach, Sue (Doug) Snitker, John (Jennifer) Zach, and Bill (Diana) Zach; and many nephews, nieces and dear friends. He was preceded in death by his parents; infant brother, Michael; infant granddaughter, Symone; and father-in-law, Adolph Zach. Memorial donations in memory of Don can be made to Freedom Foundation of Cedar Rapids, Eastern Iowa Honor Flight, VFW Post No. 788, or The Leukemia And Lymphoma Society. Please share a memory of Don at www.murdochfuneralhome.com under obituaries.