Darwin Rueber, 84, of Oelwein passed away Wednesday January 26, 2022 at Oelwein Healthcare Center.  Visitation will be from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM on Saturday February 5, 2022 at the Geilenfeld-Buehner Funeral Home in Oelwein.  Funeral services will then begin at 1:00 PM with Pastor Josh Schunk officiating.  A memorial fund has been established.

Darwin Arnold Rueber was born in Oelwein on July 4, 1937 to parents Arnold and Wilma (Brickman) Rueber.  He attended country schools in the Arlington area.  On September 15, 1962 he was united in marriage with Mary Lou Miller at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Oelwein, and they later divorced.

After graduating from Arlington High School in 1954, Darwin had various sales jobs. He raced stock cars (#44) at Tunis Speedway in Waterloo, also at Vinton, Nashua, Tipton and West Union. 

In 1959 he joined the Army National Guard of Iowa for six years.  He owned Darwin's Mobilegas while working for Trimble Implement until 1963 when he became owner of Darwin Rueber Auto Repair.  He operated a used car lot from 1965 until the tornado of 1968 destroyed it. He then went to work for Lambert Chevrolet and Larry Lange Ford.

In 1971 he started his real estate business, Darwin Rueber Realtor and later Darwin Rueber Partners.  During those years he sponsored several park and rec softball teams and coached his daughter’s teams.  He was a member of Oelwein Jaycees and Oelwein Multiple Listing Realtors.  Darwin moved to Sarasota, Florida in 1985 where he worked in sales until his retirement. 

Darwin was a fan of Oelwein athletics, the Dallas Cowboys and enjoyed playing golf and spending time with his buddies at the "19th hole".

Left to celebrate Darwin’s life are his children: Kris (Terry) Rex of Oelwein and Brenda (Ron Huckfeldt) Rueber of North Liberty; his grandchildren: Brandon (Christa) Daves of Iowa City, Alison (Corey) Pettit of Charles City, Tony (Cheyenne Voshell) Rex of Des Moines and Megan (Mason Kunkle) Rex of Oelwein; his great-grandchildren: Jacob and Natalie White, Finley Pettit, Hunter, Laila and Samuel Northrop; his brother Doug (Marcia) Rueber of Arlington; his sisters: Lois Cordes of Strawberry Point, Jan VanWyngarden of Austin, TX and Karen (Doug) Dahlberg of Los Fresnos, TX; his former wife Mary Lou Rueber of Oelwein; his sister-in-law Shari Rueber of Norwalk; as well as many nieces and nephews.

Darwin was preceded in death by his parents; his brother David Rueber; his niece Judi Cordes; his brothers-in-law: Norm Cordes and Tom VanWyngarden.