Submitted by: Dan Rich
Nov. 12, 1925 - July 28, 1997
South Bend Tribune 7/29/1997
Donald James Hertel, 71, residing on North Kenmore Street, South Bend, Ind., died at 4:15 a.m. on Monday, July 28, in St. Joseph's Medical Center. Mr. Hertel was born on Nov. 12, 1925, in South Bend, to Charles and Blanche M. (Correll) Hertel, who both preceded him in death.
On July 28, 1973, in South Bend, he married Ruth E. Rhoades, who survives. He is also survived by five daughters, Linda Reed of Conway, N.C., Peggy Hertel of South Bend, Pam Rasberry of Raleigh, N.C., Sandy Mercer of Sherman Oaks, Calif., and Donna Badowski of Indianapolis, Ind.; two sons, Ronald Hertel and Richard Hertel, both of South Bend; nine grandchildren, Becky Rogalski, Matthew Reed, Jonathan Reed, all of Conway, Ark., Brian Hertel, Adam Hertel, Maggie Hertel and Jennifer Johnston, all of South Bend, Jamie Staup of Raleigh, N.C., and Sara Badowski of Indianapolis; a great-granddaughter, Kara Ann Johnston of South Bend; and by two sisters, Betty Bowers of South Bend and Marjorie Koester of Chatham, Ill.
Mr. Hertel retired in 1983 from NIPSCO after 30 years of service, where he served as a meter reader and in gas maintenance. He was a member of the First Christian Church of South Bend, South Bend Lodge 294 Free and Accepted Masons, Moose Lodge 58 and the Sportsman Club. He also served as a Army veteran during World War.
Avenue. Rev. Becky Carr, associate pastor of the First Christian Church, will officiate. Burial will follow at Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens, Osceola, Ind. Friends may call from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday in the funeral home, where members of South Bend Lodge 294 will conduct a Masonic memorial service at 7 p.m. Memorial contributions may be made to the St. Joseph County Heart Association, to the Diabetes Foundation, or to the First Christian Church.