Donald K. Younker, age 84, died of natural causes on December 11, 2023, in Green Valley, Arizona.  Don was born May 17, 1939, in Bloomfield, Iowa, to Cleo and Esther Younker.  He spent his formative years in Milton, Iowa, and graduated from Milton High School in 1956 at sixteen years of age.  Don enlisted in the Navy with five good friends after high school and served from 1956-1960.  His Navy days greatly affected his life choices and, especially in his final years, he often talked positively about his military experience.  Don married Shirley Harryman on July 2, 1961, and the couple moved to Kirksville, Missouri, where Don was in school pursuing a college degree.  While completing his studies, Don worked as a bookkeeper for a local florist and as a night clerk at a motel.  He graduated in 1964 with BS degrees in accounting and education from Northeast Missouri State Teachers College (now Truman University).

Don began his career in public accounting with McGladrey, Hansen, Dunn in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and received his CPA in 1965.  He returned to graduate school in 1967 at the University of Missouri and completed his MBA in 1968.  After graduate school, Don returned to public accounting before stints with Century Engineering in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and American Air Filter in Moline, Illinois.  In 1976, Don was recruited to Felker Brothers, Inc., in Marshfield, Wisconsin, to modernize the accounting processes and controls for a family-owned company manufacturing stainless steel pipe and equipment.  He held the CFO, president and CEO roles over a career spanning more than twenty-five years.  He retired in 2003 and moved to Green Valley, Arizona, where he enjoyed golf and hiking.

Don believed strongly in community service and took on leadership roles in many civic organizations.  He was a scout master, a member (and president) of Rotary, president of the United Way campaign, a board member at the University of Wisconsin Center - Wood County, a member of the Marshfield Medical Research Foundation, a member of the transportation committee for MACCI, chair of the Marshfield Utility Commission, a director of the Opportunity Development Center, chair of a fundraiser to build a YMCA, and an active participant in countless other community projects and organizations in each of the cities in which he lived.  He received many awards and accolades for his public service, including the Marshfield Rotary Service Above Self and Paul Harris Awards.  He has been a member of Valley Presbyterian Church since 2003.

Don was predeceased by his parents; brothers Gerald and Steven; sister Carole Reeves; sisters-in-law Marilyn Harryman and Vada Younker; and brothers-in-law Roger Sullivan, Merlin Harryman, William Reeves and Dean Rodgers.

He is survived by his wife Shirley of Green Valley; sons Mark of Woodruff, Wisconsin, and Rodney (wife Julia) of Seattle, Washington; grandson Ryan of Chicago, Illinois; brothers Philip of Green Valley (partner Nancy Warren) and Bruce (wife Luann) of Green Valley; sisters Mina Robertson of Griggsville, Illinois, and Martha Sullivan of Milton, Iowa; sisters-in-law Marilyn Rodgers of Marengo, Iowa, and Leslie Younker of Temecula, California; and seventeen nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held at Valley Presbyterian Church at 10:00 a.m. on December 21, 2023.  Over the last seven years of his life, Don dealt nobly with the effects of dementia.  In lieu of flowers or other memorials, please consider giving to the Alzheimer's Association to help search for a cure for this debilitating disease.