Donald Howig, 86, of Grinnell, died on Friday, September 05, 2014, at the Mayflower Health Care Center in Grinnell. A Celebration of Life Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, October 4, at 1 p.m. at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Grinnell. A reception will follow the service at Grinnell House from 3-5 p.m. Should friends desire, memorials may be directed to either St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Imagine Grinnell or to Grinnell Regional Hospice and sent in care of the Smith Funeral Home, P.O. Box 368, Grinnell, Iowa 50112. Don was born on April 12, 1928, in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Harold and Adele Klein Howig and younger brother to Marlyss. Following their mother's early death, Don and Marlyss were raised by their father and grandmother, Rose Howig. The family later settled in Albuquerque, New Mexico where Don graduated from High School in 1945. Don showed potential as a professional baseball player and was signed to the minor league team for the Chicago Cubs and the Brooklyn Dodgers. He began to play ball throughout the Midwest and Northwest. However, Don, with encouragement from his father, decided to return to Iowa and go to college. He attended Drake University and later transferred to Iowa State where he earned his B.S. in Engineering in 1950. His love of baseball returned and he continued to play on the farm teams in the Des Moines area. It was before one game that he invited a couple of pretty women from his apartment building to a baseball game. One woman in particular was unable to go but a beautiful Ethel Linkletter was and she accompanied him to the ballpark. Much to her surprise, Don played in the game and she became his lifelong fan. Don and Ethel were united in marriage on Christmas Eve 1950 in Winterset, Iowa, while Don was home on leave from the Army. The young couple moved to Washington DC, where Don was stationed, and in 1952, their daughter Deborah was born. Following his two years with the Army, they returned to Des Moines where their daughter JoAnne was born in 1955. It was while Don was working for Des Moines Steel that he was approached to work for a young company in Grinnell called Miracle Recreation Company. He accepted the challenge and worked as a sales manager and in international sales for over 25 years. Their son Robert was born in 1960. Don held a strong faith and was a member and served as a lay leader at St. Paul's Episcopal Church. He was a devoted community member serving on the boards of Grinnell Federal Savings and Loan, Chamber of Commerce and Rotary Club. Don was a talented and gifted athlete. He could send a mean serve to his opponent in racquetball and tennis and he proudly claimed two "holes in one." Don had a beautiful voice and he loved to dance. But the greatest love of his life was Ethel, his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Don is survived by his wife Ethel; daughters, Debby (Paul) Pohlson of Grinnell and Jody (Randy) Kelley of Marion; one son, Bob (Linda) Howig of Sunnyvale, Texas; and his sister, Marlyss Kuenzel of St. Petersburg, Florida. Don was blessed with five grandchildren; Sarah (Dustin) Smith of Grinnell, Scott (Amy) Pohlson of Vermillion, South Dakota, Meghan Kelley of Marion, and Tiffany and Daylan Howig of Sunnyvale, Texas; and four great grandchildren; Alex and Josie Smith, and Olivia and Will Pohlson.