Daniel Dean Speicher, 53
Daniel Dean Speicher, age 53 of New Hampton, died Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021, at the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics in Iowa City.
Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021, at Holy Family Parish in New Hampton, with the Rev. Brian Dellaert celebrating the Mass.
Interment will follow at Rose Hill Cemetery in Fredericksburg.
Friends may greet the family from 4 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021, at Hugeback-Johnson Funeral Home & Crematory in New Hampton, where there will be a 7 p.m. Parish Scripture Service. Visitation continues an hour before the Mass on Thursday at the church.
Dan was born on March 6, 1968, at St. Joseph’s Hospital in New Hampton, the son of Charles and Connie (Randall) Speicher, and he was an active boy who grew up on his parents’ farm. He helped his dad with farm chores and farming, was a Boy Scout, loved riding motorcycles, and enjoyed reading and swimming.
At New Hampton High School, he was involved with wrestling and in the FFA before graduating with the Class of 1986.
One night, he and his pals went to a classmate’s wedding dance, where he met Carol Kramer, or shall we say “re-met.” The two went to school together, but on this night, the spark was lit. He and Carol were married on June 13, 1992, at St. Bernard’s Catholic Church in Alta Vista.
Dan worked at the Underwood Mink Farm while he was in high school before taking a job at IBP in Storm Lake after graduation. He also worked at Featherlite in Cresco, but his heart always tugged him toward farming. In 1988, his dream became a reality. Dan and Carol worked the land and started a cattle feed yard, Prime Feeders, in 2006. He loved working with cattle and joked that his feedlot had been “Holstein Free” for 13 years and 10 months.
But even more than being a farmer, Dan loved being a dad to his two daughters — Jessica and Christina. Jessica will always remember the tractor rides she took with her father while Christina tells the story of the “competition” between her and her father. When the steers arrived, she would pick one, and Dan would pick one, and the “rate of gain” competition was on. Dan went just 1-2 against his daughter, but this might be the one time when he didn’t mind finishing second.
Dan was a man of many interests. He enjoyed NASCAR racing, restoring classic Ford cars, watching the Iowa Hawkeyes football and wrestling teams, going to bowl games to cheer on the Hawks, cruising in his classic cars, restoring Case IH tractors with his dad, snowmobiling, and riding his 4-wheeler. He converted to Catholicism in 1992. He also enjoyed attending his daughters’ sporting events and helping Christina with her FFA show steer projects.
He was known for his great one-liners, enjoying a steak and having a “Captain and Water” or two. Dan had wit, and he took as well as he gave it. If he gave you grief and you gave it right back, Dan was your friend for life!
Dan was most at home on his farm north of the ethanol plant, but he also enjoyed traveling to NASCAR races, seven Hawkeye bowl games, Orlando, Florida, the Black Hills, and Hawaii. He also had good times on trips to Western stock shows in Colorado and St. Louis, as well as to other feedlots in Nebraska and South Dakota.
He was a member of the Chickasaw County Sno-Riders, the Chickasaw County Cattlemen’s Association, a group he led as president for seven years, and the Iowa Cattlemen’s Feedlot Council.
Dan’s passing has come as a shock to so many, yet it says something about the man that the weekend after his death, so many gathered to help Carol harvest the farm’s soybeans and corn. He was a one-of-a-kind guy who could zing you one minute with one of his patented one-liners and drop everything the next time to help you out of a tough situation. The world simply won’t be the same without Dan.
He is survived by his wife of 29 years, Carol; two daughters, Jessica (Sam Johnson) of Decorah and Christina (Will Winter) of New Hampton; brother, Richard (Kathy) Speicher of New Hampton, brothers- and sisters-in-law, Daryl and Laure Bouska, Jim and Michelle Orthaus, David and Janiece Kramer and John Kramer; mother-in-law, Joyce Kramer; multiple aunts and uncles; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Dan was preceded in death by his parents, Charles and Connie; brother, Gary Speicher; father-in-law, Norbert Kramer; and sister-in-law, Susan Brooks.
