Deon Wingert
October 29, 1973 - March 19, 2018

A memorial Mass for Deon Wingert, 44, of Carroll, formerly of Wesley, was held on Monday, March 26, 2018, at 11:00 AM at St, Joseph Catholic Church in Wesley, with Father Timothy Johnson officiating. In lieu of flowers, an education fund has been established for his daughter Molly.

Deon Levi Wingert, was born on October 29, 1973, to Dale and Lois (Becker) Wingert, where he joined four sisters and a brother. Two more sisters followed to make the Wingert family complete. The Wingerts grew up in Wesley, Iowa, a town of 444 people, which they thought was the very best place in the world and definitely filled with the best people. As the family always jokes, it took a village to raise the Wingerts.

As much as Deon loved his immediate family, anyone who knew him knows that the love of his life was Molly Clare Wingert, his daughter with Gina Froehlich Wingert. From the day she was born on February 20, 1998, his life was never the same. From their weekly date nights to supporting each other in every aspect of life, it would be hard to find a greater love for a child than the love Deon had for Molly. Based on lessons he learned from his own parents, Deon taught Molly about how to find and appreciate joy in the little things in life, how to overcome adversity with strength and grace, how to treat others with compassion and love, how to forgive, how to persevere when times are tough, how to love unconditionally with all your heart, how to be strong and humble enough to know when to ask for help, and the importance of telling family and friends that you love them and telling them often. He often said that it was a privilege to be Molly's dad and that it was the only thing he knew for sure in his heart that he got right in life. On her 20th birthday this year, he said it best when he wrote to Molly: "20 years ago today was the best day of my life. God gave me my favorite traveling buddy, partner in crime, and best friend. So very proud of the young woman you are, and if you weren't my daughter, I'd pick you as a friend. Always remember, you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."

Deon attended the first two years of high school at Corwith Wesley Lu Verne before transferring to and graduating from Bishop Garrigan High School in 1992, where he was a talented baseball, football and track athlete. On the day of his high school graduation, the San Diego Padres asked him to fly to another state so that they could see him pitch. The time they scheduled was exactly the same time as the graduation ceremony. After discussing it with Dad, Deon decided that attending his high school graduation ceremony was more important than potentially getting picked up by the Padres for its roster. Deon's parents always impressed upon him and his siblings the importance of education, whether it came from attending college or from working in a career you were passionate about. From his parents, Deon saw firsthand that true fulfillment in life comes from serving others. As such, he pursued and excelled in two of the most giving and compassionate of professions: nursing and teaching. In 1994, Deon graduated as a Licensed Practical Nurse from Iowa Lakes Community College. He then received his Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Science Education from Iowa State University in 1999. He completed his education and received a Master's in Education Administration, Education Leadership, from Drake University in 2004.

From 1999-2013, Deon taught chemistry and health at Carroll High School. While many of his fellow teachers and colleagues, as well as hundreds of former students, became life-long friends, history teacher Dirk Troutman transcended friendship and became a second brother to Deon. Dirk was there for the good times, the bad times and everything in between, just like family. The Wingert family will forever be grateful for the deep love and unfailing support Dirk gave to Deon, and he will always be considered part of the family. While teaching, Deon volunteered to help the pitchers in the baseball program, where Dirk was the head coach. Deon also coached the freshman football and freshman girls basketball teams, where Molly often served as the team mascot, if for no other reason than she spent as many hours at practices and games as her Dad.

Deon was known as a dedicated teacher who pushed his students to achieve more then they imagined they could. Dirk described Deon as a beloved teacher who made his classes fun and educational. Many times during the years, Dirk said he heard sounds of loud laughter coming from Deon's chemistry classroom. Deon also instituted the annual tradition of celebrating "Mole Day," which apparently only science nerds will appreciate.

Long after they graduated, Deon's former students often commented on his social media pages, proving that he left a lasting and positive impression on their lives. Students described Deon as: a role model; a remarkable person with a passion for learning; an easy-going nature; a commitment to excellence; a great mentor; generous with words of wisdom, encouragement and guidance; he made chemistry fun and entertaining; he always saw the good in people; his teaching style consisted of pushing students to not give up on something they didn't understand right away; a great teacher, but a better man; he was the inspiration for my becoming a nurse or teacher; he was forgiving; he had an innate sense of who needed extra help and then gave it without drawing attention to it; he was respected; he touched many hearts and changed a lot of lives; he was famous for telling students they could do more than they thought they were capable of doing and that he believed in them; and, finally, that if you knew Deon, you knew how much he loved Molly. One student simply said, "Mr. Wingert, the world was a better place because you lived in it."

While teaching, Deon also pursued his second passion of taking care of the elderly and worked full-time hours as a nurse for the past 23 years on nights, weekends, holidays and whenever he was needed. From 1999-2017, he worked at Hawkeye Care Centers, where his last position was as the Assistant Director of Nursing. Many holidays, he left Wingert family gatherings early to work a double shift at the care center so that another nurse could spend time with her or his family. Deon said he liked working holidays because after spending time with his family, he was able to spend time with his residents, who he loved deeply. He loved nothing better than to sit with them and listen to their stories, even if he had heard them numerous times. As he said more than once, "If they tell me the same story a hundred times, I listen to it a hundred times as if it was the first time I heard it. It's an honor that they trust me and want to share things with me. I'm the luckiest guy in the world."

Co-worker Marcus Redwine described Deon as a great nurse, who was full of advice all of the time. He said Deon would take people under his wing and make them feel welcomed. Marcus said Deon was quick with a joke and always had a smile on his face, and if he was down about something you wouldn't know it. Deon was also a practical joker and once told Marcus the care center was having an ugly Christmas sweater contest that came with a prize for the ugliest one. Marcus arrived at work wearing the ugliest sweater he could find, only to find out that he was the only one dressed like that because it was one of Deon's pranks. Marcus said Deon laughed about that for weeks afterwards. Like Dirk, Deon thought of Marcus as a brother and, despite the many practical jokes on Marcus' behalf, Deon spoke often and with great love about him at every Wingert family gathering. The family will forever be grateful for Marcus' love and friendship toward Deon.

At age 33, Deon decided to take up running and biking again. As he did with everything, he did them both with great passion. Over the next 11 years, Deon completed four Ironman competitions in Kentucky, Idaho, Arizona and Colorado; ran a 50-mile trail race in in Virginia; and ran hundreds of marathons, half-marathons and races of varying distances. When asked before his Ironman competitions why he would torture himself with a 2.5 mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2 mile run, he answered, "Because I don't know if I can do it or not. I guess I'll find out. If you're not doing things in your life that challenge you, are you really living?" He also enjoyed riding RAGBRAI every year with his group of friends. Deon spent much of his childhood years with his cousins, Travis and Torrey Wingert, who conveniently lived at the other end of the block. Although genetically they were cousins, in their hearts they were as inseparable as brothers. Wherever you found one, you generally found all three.

Deon's 44 years were filled with love for Molly, his parents, siblings, nieces and nephews, and aunts and uncles. He was a faith-filled man, who read the bible more than once and often said, "Everything you need to know in life is in that book." Deon was well known for his quick wit and jokes, great love of telling and listening to stories, spending time with family, love of music and learning new things, competing in all types of athletic activities, and spending time outside enjoying nature.

Left to grieve him and to celebrate his life are his daughter, Molly; his Dad, Dale; his siblings, Lisa, Lynn, Leah (Bill), Lara, (Daryl), Dana (Tami), Lacy (Jason) and Lany (Matt); nephews and nieces, Brandon, Brooke, Levi, Garrett (Sarah), Taylor, Tyson, Kennedy, Noah, Ruby, Carson, Montgomery, Natalie and Daisy; friend and former wife, Gina Froehlich Wingert; numerous aunts, uncles, friends, former students and so many others who loved him. Last, but certainly not least, is his favorite (and only) dog, Sheldon, who was his favorite companion in life after Molly. Deon was preceded in death by his Mom, Lois; and his grandparents, Clare and Hertula Wingert, and Ray and Louise Becker.

Tributes