Delbert "Del" Wiegand

Delbert (Del) Lawrence Wiegand passed peacefully on April 11, 2024, in Centennial, Colorado.  He was born in Gibbon, Nebraska, on March 10, 1927.  He is survived by his wife, Norita Wiegand; his two children, Mark Wiegand and Marsha Christopulos (Fr. Louis Christopulos); three grandchildren, Nichole Floropoulos (Gus Floropoulos), Christopher Christopulos, Jonathan Christopulos (Emma); and six great grandchildren.  

A prayer service will be held at HORAN & McCONATY Funeral home, 11150 E. Dartmouth Ave., Aurora, Colorado, 80014, on Monday evening April 15, 2024, at 7:30 p.m.  A private funeral service will be held on Tuesday, April 16^th, followed by the internment at Beth El Cemetery in Cheyenne, Wyoming.  

INTERVIEW WITH DEL WIEGAND JULY 2016:

MC:       So Del, what are your best memories of your childhood?

DW:      I remember being a young boy living in Kearney, Nebraska.  My grandparents had a farm, and I would help my grandfather in the fields.  I would drive the tractor and we would work all day planting. My grandmother was out there working as well and then she would go in and fix supper for us, always with meat and potatoes.  They retired after a while and my mom and dad bought a house in town. We had a big park right across the street, and I would play football with the neighborhood kids any chance I got.  I could throw the football pretty well so I would always be the quarterback. I went to school at a Catholic school when I was young and the nuns were pretty strict.  I was kind of a tough kid which would get me into trouble at times, but in the 4^th grade, there was one nun, I can’t remember her name, but she helped me turn things around and turned me on to reading.   I don’t remember exactly what it was but she made me want to be a better student.  From that point on I think I was always a pretty good student.  I had four sisters and three brothers and we were all good students.  My father made sure of that.  He had about a 2 ½” leather belt that he didn’t hesitate to use if or when we didn’t do our best.  I guess that is why I worked hard all my life.  But even scarier was my grandmother who would pull a switch from the willow tree if any of us back talked or didn’t do our chores.  

MC:       So you were named Athlete of the Century at your high school in Kearney.  They sent you a plaque.  I have it right here and it reads:  

Del Wiegand, Class of 1945, FOOTBALL*BASKETBALL*BOXING*TRACK&FIELD; All-State Football Quarterback 1944 State Champions, Eight Time Letter-Winner at KHS, Referred to as One of the Great Natural Leaders in KHS History. University of Nebraska-Lincoln Football Three Year Letterman Quarterback.  “I’m impressed”.  What are your thoughts about this?”  

DW:      Well, I was pretty surprised and honored when I was told about this.  I remember my senior year when we played for the state championship, we were 9-0 and rated #1 in the state with the #2 team being Lincoln High School that we beat in the first game of the season 7-6.  That was their only loss of that year.  During the season we scored over 200 total points, holding our opponents to 12 total points for the year.  In 2007 Kearney High School won their first state championship since 1944 when we won. I was interviewed by the local newspaper. I can’t believe it took them that long.    

MC:       You are a WWII Veteran right?

DW:      I was a senior in High School and the war was on and everyone was enlisting.  Even though I had a full ride scholarship to play football at the University of Nebraska, I enlisted because I thought it was the right thing to do.   I graduated early in 1945 and signed on with the Navy.  I went to San Diego for a while and played a lot of football with the guys.  Then I was sent to Washington D.C., where I began working with Computers.  The war ended shortly thereafter.  I was asked to stay on with the Navy in their computer department but I really wanted to go back to Nebraska.  I knew at that time I wanted to be a geologist, so I did go back.  I played three years of football on defense and as their quarterback.  We didn’t do great but we played some pretty big schools back them, pretty good teams.   I graduated with my degree in Geology.   I went back home for three days.   My dad told me I could stay for three days and then I had to go get a job and move on.  

MC:       So you worked in the oil business until retirement?

DW:      I hitchhiked to my first job in a small town near Casper, Wyoming and began working for Oasis Oil Company.  They moved me around a couple of times.  One of the areas I was sent to was the Uinta Basin where I met and married my wife Norita.   From there we moved 27 times in two years.  We ended up in Rapid City, South Dakota, where we had both of our children, Mark and Marsha.  From there I went to Libya, Africa, and then back to the Rocky Mountains.  The oil business suffered a lot in the 80’s and I was hired by a company to work in Houston where I retired.  

MC:       What would you say is your greatest accomplishments?

DW:      My children and grandchildren.   My heart is full of joy when I have them around.  I hope that when I am gone they will remember me and know how much I loved them and how proud I am of them all.  They make my heart sing.

MC:       “I love you dad.”

DW:      “I love you too Doll.”

                                                          -------     End of Interview    -------

              My father suffered for many years with Alzheimer’s.  Although he was still the same kind, soft hearted, and proud man, we all lost the great father, grandfather, and husband that made such a positive influence in our lives many years before he passed last night.  But knowing that he is a place of peace with our sweet Lord, where there is no more pain sorrow and suffering brings comfort to all our hearts.