Darold E. Plueger never backed down from a fight, no matter the odds. On July 18, 2020, he lost his final bout and passed from this world.

Dar was born on October 3, 1951  at St. Joseph Hospital in Sioux City, the second youngest of four brothers. His parents, Lester and Evelyn Plueger, brought him home to a rambunctious house in the Riverside neighborhood.

All four boys shared the same bedroom. The family doctor knew them by name and kept needle and thread close at hand to stitch them up.

On hot summer afternoons, Dar and his brothers swung from a rope tied to a railroad bridge that spanned the Big Sioux River and flipped into the water. In the fall, they played football across the street from their home in an empty lot that their dad would eventually purchase to put a new house on. As they grew, Dar and his brothers traded in their go-karts and bicycles for motorcycles.

If anyone challenged his family, they’d better be prepared to deal with Dar. In high school, he brawled with three college-age boys at once because they had picked a fight with his little brother, Ed.

Dar graduated from Riverside High School in 1970.

The United States Government drafted Dar into the army the summer after graduation. He entered through the buddy system with his good friend Ruben Hauser. Dar served as an active member of the US Army from June 26, 1970, to January 21, 1972, then as inactive ready reserve until June 25, 1976. He was stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington, and deployed to Korea.

After his service, Dar worked at the John Morrell & Co. meat processing facility, Gateway 2000, City of Sioux City, and as an operations and maintenance employee of the Sioux City School District. He retired from his work with the school district at age 62.

Dar married Janet Bray in 1976 and divorced in 2004. As a young couple, they built a home together in Riverside and raised two beautiful daughters, Sarah Fairbanks (Plueger) and Jessi Bergin (Plueger).

He taught them to ride bikes, demolish walls, and hang drywall. His daughters fondly remember him with a level and tape measure in hand checking to be sure the new door frame he installed was perfectly level and plumb.

Each summer he took the family on a road trip visiting destinations like the Black Hills, Worlds of Fun, and Valley Fair.

Dar moved in 2004 to an acreage north of Jefferson, South Dakota. He loved spending time with friends and family. He cheered grandchildren from the sidelines of softball, basketball, and soccer games. He had a jocular sense of humor and enjoyed lifting weights, remodeling his home, watching football and boxing, and riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle. He held passionate opinions on politics.

Dar’s life will be lovingly remembered and celebrated by his children and their spouses, Sarah and Chad Fairbanks of Sioux City, and Jessi and Nick Bergin of Bronson; his brothers and their spouses, Rick and Connie Plueger of Sioux City, Ed and Marvene Plueger of Omaha, Mike and Linda Plueger of Ogden; and his grandchildren, Rylee and Tayden Fairbanks of Sioux City, and Luna and Willow Bergin of Bronson.

He was preceded in death by his parents,  Lester and Evelyn Plueger.