Charles Deppe
Charles Dana “Chuck” Deppe, 82, of Ames, Iowa, and formerly of Jewell, Iowa, died January 15, 2025, at the Eastern Star Masonic Home in Boone, Iowa.
Chuck was born April 1, 1942, in Newton, Iowa, to Albert R. and Addie McDowell Deppe. He was raised by Albert R. Deppe and Virginia Kann Deppe on a farm in the Rock Creek area between Grinnell and Kellogg, Iowa. He graduated from Grinnell High School in 1960. He received his bachelor’s degree majoring in mathematics from the Iowa State Teachers College/State College of Iowa (now the University of Northern Iowa) in 1964. He then received his juris doctorate degree from Drake University Law School in 1967.
On April 11, 1964, Chuck was married to Sandra Jean Kelley and lived in Des Moines, Iowa, while Chuck was attending law school. Chuck was an attorney in the Jewell and Story City, Iowa, area from 1967 until his retirement in 2002. In the 1990s, Chuck and his wife Sandra volunteered in the United States Peace Corps and served in Guatemala 28 months, served in AmeriCorps in Las Vegas, Nevada, for 1 year, and went on a mission trip to Swaziland, South Africa. Chuck’s hobbies included playing fast pitch softball, slow pitch softball, golfing, reading and gardening. He loved the Iowa State Cyclones, Green Bay Packers, and the University of Montana Grizzlies. Chuck was a very giving person in life sharing with those less fortunate than him. He was as giving in death as he was in life as an organ donor. He was always up for a good discussion and never met a stranger.
Survivors include his wife, Sandra Jean Deppe; his children Carolyn Honn of Missoula, Montana, and Justin Deppe of Jewell; his grandchildren, Emma Honn of Missoula, Montana, Miranda Deppe of Jewell, Iowa, and Connor Deppe of Jewell, Iowa; brothers Laird “Larry” (Marilyn) Deppe of Grinnell, Iowa, Ronald “Ron” (Cindy) Deppe of Grinnell, Iowa, and Richard Elliott of Grinnell, Iowa; sisters Linda Bennet of Toledo, Iowa, Patricia “Patty” (Wayne) Skelton of Auburn, Washington, Vicki (Norm) Henderson of Grinnell, Iowa, and Ginny (Jim) Hall of Grinnell, Iowa. He was preceded in death by his father, Albert R. Deppe, his birth mother, Addie M. Elliott, his mother Virginia M. Deppe, and his brother Gerald L. “Jerry” Deppe.
Funeral will be on March 1, 2025, at 1:00 PM at St. John’s by the Campus Episcopal Church, 2338 Lincoln Way, Ames, IA. Memorial contributions may be directed to Eastern Star Masonic Home, Hearthstone Memorial, 715 West Mamie Eisenhower Avenue, Boone, IA 50036.