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Obituary for Donald Russell Applegate
Donald Russell Applegate, 71 of rural Earlham went to be with the Lord on Thursday, August 1, 2019. Funeral service will be held at 11 A.M. on Tuesday, August 6th at the Johnson Family Funeral Home in Earlham. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service at the funeral home. Burial will be at the Bear Creek Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be directed to Donald Applegate Memorial Fund. Online condolences may be left at www.johnsonfamilyfuneralhome.com.
Donald Russell Applegate, son of Russell Hadley Applegate and Anna Maudie (Barnett) Applegate was born January 9, 1948 in Dexter, Iowa. One sister, Jean Ann, was born into the family three years later. Don grew up on the family farm southeast of Redfield, Iowa. He attended school at Redfield and Dexfield Community Schools and church at Bear Creek Friends Church during his growing up years. He trusted Jesus Christ as his Savior at the age of ten at Quaker Heights Camp, near Eldora, Iowa. The first Bible verse which he learned was John 3:16. He attended college at William Penn College, Oskaloosa, Iowa and Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. He graduated with a degree in Agricultural Education in 1970.
In 1970, he was united in marriage with Deloris Kay Madsen of Cumming, Iowa. (She was the love of his life and faithful companion and helper for the rest of his life). He took a position teaching vocational agriculture at Murray High School, Murray, Iowa. After three years of teaching there, he felt the call of God on his life to go into the ministry and preach the Gospel (John 10:16 & 15:16). In preparation for this, he attended Faith Baptist College, Ankeny, Iowa and Grace Theological Seminary, Winona Lake, Indiana. In 1980, a son Daniel Aaron, was adopted into the family. (He was a great help to Don and Deloris and a special blessing from God).
From 1980 through 1996, Don served as fulltime pastor in two churches – one in Lindley, New York and one in Galloway, Ohio. During this time, he served on a camp board in New York and a Baptists for Life board in Ohio. In 1997, he and Deloris moved back to Iowa to help his father on the family farm and pastor other places. He served as interim pastor in three churches and preached as a pulpit supply pastor in several churches in central Iowa. He had many favorite Bible verses and often shared a verse with others. The verse which he felt best summed up his life was I Cor. 15:10a “By the grace of God I am what I am” (to God be the glory). He often shared Gospel tracts with people or wrote notes of encouragement. He had a website (www.theonedoor.wordpress.com) which contained about 50 articles or message notes to help others come to faith in Christ or grow in their faith in Him. He had a plaque in his study which made a statement about his life philosophy. It said, “Only one life, ‘twill soon be past, only what is don for/by Christ will last!”
In 2006, Don was diagnosed to have Parkinson’s Disease. Dealing with this disease was one of the major trials of his life. On his website he placed an article entitled “My Major Trial and How God Says to Deal with It”. From 2015 on, the P.D. symptoms advanced slowing me down to do what I loved. The major frustration to him was that the disease took away his ability to speak, almost totally. He often told people that God’s grace was sufficient to deal with it day by day and that it was only temporary (II Cor. 12:9,10 & 4:16-18), until He took him HOME to Heaven.
Don is survived by his wife, Deloris; son Daniel and wife, Rose; grandson, Russell; several cousins; brother-in-law, Dennis Moore and many dear brothers and sisters in Christ. He and Deloris have a stone, in the front row of the Bear Creek Cemetery, which has a John 3:16 ‘Tombstone Testimony’ on it.
One final thought from the life of Don Applegate. One time I heard him ask a man, who he did not know he would ever see again, this question, “Will I see you in Heaven?” How would you answer him?
