Delbert L Eidenier, aged 95, died on April 30, in Las Vegas NV, where he had been living with his son Jim. A native & longtime resident of Pioneer, OH, he had lived in Temperance, MI for the last 15 years, and was able to live independently until falling ill the last few months.
Until the last, he maintained a curiosity about life and an interest in learning new things. He was a wonderful storyteller with a great memory for humorous detail.
He loved his family, Michigan State football and basketball, the Detroit Tigers, and the Detroit Lions. He could fix most things, played a pretty good harmonica, loved to dance, and could ride a bicycle backwards.
Born Sept. 26, 1924 at home to L.W. and June Searer Eidenier, and raised in Pioneer, Del Joined the Navy in WWII, but never shipped out. As a young man he worked, among other jobs, at a logging camp in Idaho, and on airplane assembly in Arizona, returning to Pioneer to work and start a family.
He married Nancy Bumpus in 1950 and they had three children, divorcing in 1965. He then met and married Onalee Grimm Weber, who still survives, and added two more children to the family. He worked with his father for over 50 years as a mechanic at the family’s East End Garage, retiring in 1987 to begin a second career as an auto parts salesman at Pioneer Auto Parts.
He served on the Pioneer city council for a time, on the Floral Grove cemetery board, and was a member of the American Legion. We always loved seeing him carrying the flag with the American Legion color guard every Memorial Day. He was named citizen of the year in 1997 by the Pioneer Chamber of Commerce.
He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Onalee, now a resident of Goerlich Center, in Sylvania, OH; daughters Marsha (Terry) Howell of Fishers, In; Denise (Jim) Mollenkopf of Toledo; Sons Jim (Christine) Eidenier of Las Vegas; and Aaron (Susan) Eidenier of Ottawa Hills, OH, and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents and stepdaughter Tina Marshall.
A graveside service will be held on May 29, 1:00 at Floral Grove Cemetery, Pioneer, Ohio with military rites by the Pioneer Veterans.
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