Donald G. Stroh died peacefully and quietly on Wednesday, July 31, 2024, at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in South San Francisco, CA of complications of Alzheimer’s Disease. Donald was diagnosed in 2015. He is survived by his long-time friend, associate, and business partner, Nick Jarrett, and many friends.
A funeral service will be held at 1 p.m., Thursday, August 15, 2024 at the Sharp Funeral Home in Carroll with Fr. Patrick Behm officiating. Burial will be in Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Carroll.
Funeral arrangements are under the guidance of the Sharp Funeral Home in Carroll and online condolences may be left for Donald’s family at www.sharpfuneral.com.
Donald G. Stroh was the quintessential Renaissance Man. He was a world traveler many times over, going through life with a thirst for knowledge, always on a quest to quench his thirst. His life story is yet another version of the true saying: “You just can’t keep them down on the farm!”
Born in Des Moines, he moved to Carroll with his mother, Clara Stroh, when he was four. He was educated in Carroll, graduating from Carroll High School, Class of 1952, then going on to Iowa State University at Ames. Don earned his degree in Ceramics Engineering in 1956.
Following graduation, he went to work at his first “real job” in Massachusetts. He had just started in the packing and shipping department of a ceramics engineering company when he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1957. He served two years as a clarinet player in the Fifth Army Band, stationed in Chicago, Ill. Don immensely enjoyed attending Chicago Symphony Concerts, Chicago’s world-class museums, and immersing himself in Chicago’s many other cultural amenities. Don’s shining moment with The Band was when they played for Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip when the royal couple visited the United States. The Queen and Prince Phillip were parading through an area, “reviewing” the playing Band as they walked past and around it. The Queen spotted Don playing away with the band. She kept her gaze steadily on him and he on Her Majesty’s gaze as she and Prince Phillip rounded the corner in front of the band. Don said she seemed to pick him out of the crowd and seemed very pleased with what she saw. She smiled. He is probably the only Fifth Army Band member who ever had direct eye-to-eye contact with the smiling Queen for a full minute or two. That’s probably a record.
Following military service (honorable discharge, 1959) Don moved to San Francisco. He enrolled at San Francisco State University (then College) where he earned a California Teaching Credential (1960). Don taught Junior High School (seventh and eighth grades) 1960 to 1977 at Hoover Jr. High School in San Francisco. Don met his business manager/partner, friend, and associate for life, Nick Jarrett in 1961. Don and Nick became shrewd investors in San Francisco rental property real estate, buying their first property in 1961. By 1977 the duties and obligations of being owners and landlords required Don to leave his beloved mission of educating the young. He became a full-time owner/landlord.
That did not stop Don from being a Renaissance Man. He traveled all over the world accompanied by friends who shared his artistic interests, visiting countries in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Asia. He was a founding member of American Decorative Arts Forum of San Francisco, Victorian Alliance, and a doner/philanthropist to charities and artistic groups and organizations.
Don never forgot his roots in Carroll, Iowa. He maintained a residence in his boyhood town which he visited regularly once a year, alone and (2006 to 2019) with his friend Douglas Lambert.
He will always be missed by those who knew and loved him.
