David Wampler's Obituary
David Brent Wampler, age 68, of Allerton, Iowa, passed from this earth on May 9, 2025, at home with his family.
David was born on November 19, 1956, to Robert and Teressa (Duden) Wampler. Along with older brother Mark and younger sister Rebecca, the family moved to several towns in Iowa and Nebraska before returning to Allerton in 1967. David took an early interest in farming and spent much of his teenage years raising sheep and cattle, baling hay, and working for other farmers. He also helped his parents with their business at Bob and Teressa's Country Store. As a teenager, he allegedly got up to other activities that made for excellent stories but are not appropriate to print in an obituary. He was a proud Eagle Scout with Order of the Arrow and God and Country distinctions. He graduated from Wayne Community High School in 1975.
David met the love of his life, Jean, in 1958 when his parents bought her parents' house. He liked to say that he slept with her for the first time when he was five, since he stayed with her family when his sister was born. David and Jean reconnected in 1978 and were married in 1980. David told Jean and her daughter Jackie that they would only live at their farm outside of Allerton for a few months. Instead, David and Jean spent 45 wonderful years together on that property. They were soon joined by a daughter, Sara, and a son, Michael.
Like many members of our community, David was deeply affected by the farm crisis. He stopped farming in 1982 and tried his hand at many other careers - selling real estate and insurance, building grain bins, raising turkeys, and even graduating from the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy. His classmates there called him 'Chief' because he was already hired to become Allerton's chief of police and sole police officer.
David later worked at Shivvers Manufacturing. While at Shivvers, David volunteered to go to Moscow in 1992 to sell grain drying equipment. David left Shivvers and took the family to Bila Tserkva, Ukraine, in 1993, where he spent a year leading a joint venture with an agricultural cooperative. David loved every minute of his time in Ukraine, and he remained in touch with many friends there.
After returning to Allerton, David was an international product specialist at Vermeer Manufacturing in Pella. He literally wrote the book on directional drilling for environmental remediation. He traveled extensively across Australia, New Zealand, Central and South America, Asia, and the Middle East. This experience led him to start his own directional drilling company, Jackson Creek Enterprises, in 1999. He later formed Coddington Wampler with Darrell Coddington to provide field tiling services. David and Jean operated Jackson Creek for twenty-five years before David's health led them to retire in October 2024. He deeply valued his relationships with his employees. He also built many friendships across the industry, both in Iowa and globally, and he was always willing to lend a hand to other drillers.
David was a very active member of the local community. He fondly remembered helping with the acquisition of the Allerton Centennial Building and with his parents' annual community Thanksgiving dinners. This spirit of giving continued until his death. He started the International Center for Rural Culture and Art in 1991 with Clell Bryan, Bob Finley, and the help of many others to buy and preserve Allerton's Round Barn, and was instrumental in acquiring and restoring the church, house, and school on the site. He was also proud to chair the Wayne County Republicans for many years and was active in politics throughout his life.
David loved people and was deeply curious about the world. His teenage interests in music, photography, and bootlegging beer gave way to other pursuits over the years - Model A cars, antiques, peacocks, miniature cows, garden railroad trains, tractors, grilling and smoking meat, and making popcorn, among many other hobbies. He loved to spend time with his wife and children, talk to his many friends, and cruise around the county with the radio cranked up. He also loved to invent and tinker with new solutions to problems, and he could fix almost anything. He was an excellent storyteller, and many will remember him for his hilarious turns of phrase.
The family is comforted by David's strong faith in God and by the knowledge that he is no longer in pain.
David is survived by his wife Jean, daughter Sara, and son Michael. He is also survived by stepdaughter Jackie (Shawn) Richardson; grandchildren Sammi, Zane (Allison), and Allie (Chris); sister Becky (Brian) Bland; sister-in-law Kathy Wampler and nephew Andrew (Sammie); sister-in-law Deanna Shaw and niece/nephews Moriah (Jaime), Elijah, and Jordan; four great-grandchildren with two more expected this summer; and numerous cousins.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Bob and Teressa Wampler; brother Mark Wampler; parents-in-law Harold Holder and Eleanor Holder McKeeman; brother-in-law Scott Shaw; and son-in-law Roger Parham.
Funeral services for David will be held on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at 10:00am at Thomas Funeral Home in Corydon, IA, with burial to follow at Allerton Cemetery and lunch at Allerton Civic Center. Visitation will be held on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, from 5:00-7:00pm at Thomas Funeral Home in Corydon. Memorials may be made to the International Center for Rural Culture and Art (locally known as the Round Barn) in honor of David and mailed to Thomas Funeral Home, 303 E. Jefferson, Corydon, Iowa 50060 Attn: Wampler Family, or donations may be made online at https://www.theroundbarn.org. Condolences may be shared on our website at https://www.thomasfh.com or https://facebook.com/thomasfuneralhome.
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