Dale Francis Vandenack passed away peacefully at his home on Friday, May 1, 2020. Dale was born in Green Bay on May 4, 1941, to Cyril and Serena (Netols) Vandenack. He was the oldest of three boys. Dale attended SS. Peter & Paul elementary school, Washington Junior High, and East High School. He lived and worked his entire life in Green Bay.
Dale met Janet DeQuaine while they were in elementary school. They had a large group of friends who stayed together throughout their school years and beyond. Dale and Jan started dating when they were sophomores and were married on September 10, 1960, at SS. Peter & Paul Catholic Church. They had two children, Julie and Randall.
Dale was a hard worker and a people-person. He started working at sixteen at his first job with Reimer’s Meat Market as a delivery boy. He enjoyed riding around town, and would toot his horn for Jan any time he went by the high school when she was in class. Dale then started working at Diana Manufacturing, where his father worked. Dale worked there for many years, and became a supervisor.
Dale then went on to manage the Hol’n One Donut Shop at Port Plaza Mall. It was a family endeavor, with Jan, Julie, and Randy all working at the restaurant as well as many other extended family and friends. After the restaurant closed, Dale worked as a supervisor at NEW Curative for several years.
Dale was an avid bowler for most of his adult life. He and Jan joined a couple’s league in 1961 and after that he was hooked. He joined a men’s league and the two of them spent many enjoyable evenings in the bowling alley. Dale became President of the Green Bay Bowler’s Association and he was on the board of the Junior Bowling Association. He was a junior bowling coach for many years, as well as a Little League coach. Dale competed in the ABC Men’s National Bowling Tournament for at least 15 years. He was inducted into the Green Bay Bowler’s Hall of Fame in 1992.
Dale was also a life-long Packers fan. In his younger years, he would sneak into the games when the Packers played at City Stadium at East High School. He was excited to get season tickets in 1962 and attended virtually every home game – including the legendary Ice Bowl – from then until 2003.
Dale and Jan enjoyed socializing with their group of friends, including playing cribbage and sheep’s head when they got together. They traveled around the country for bowling tournaments. They also went to Colorado on a regular basis to visit Randy and his family.
On July 4, 2001, Dale had a bad fall which resulted in a traumatic brain injury. Although he recovered for a few years, the injury slowly started affecting him. Dale volunteered with NEW Curative/Curative Connections for a while, and then as his condition progressed, he became a participant in their adult day care program. Even though Dale was not the same, his family was thankful he was able to have many more years with them, including attending several of his grandchildren’s weddings, and meeting his first great-grandchild Adam.
Dale is survived by his wife Jan; daughter Julie Fiest, Howard, and her children Cody (Lauren) Fiest and Courtney (Matthew) Poirier; son Randall (Dana) Vandenack, De Pere and his children Drew (fiancé Katie Lowery) Vandenack, Allison (Jordan) Haltaufderheid, and Brett (friend Hannah Rohlinger) Vandenack. He is also survived by his two brothers, Dennis (Janice) Vandenack, Green Bay, and David Vandenack, Chicago.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Cyril and Serena Vandenack and his father-in-law and mother-in-law, Jule and Marie DeQuaine; aunts and uncles.
A Memorial Gathering will be held from 9:30 to 11 a.m. on Monday, July 27, 2020 at St. Agnes Catholic Church, 1424 Ninth St. A Memorial Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 a.m. Monday at the church with Rev. Patrick Beno officiating Proko-Wall Funeral Home is assisting the family. To send online condolences visit www.prokowall.com.
The family would like to thank the staff at Curative Connections Cloud Family Center for all the years of care for Dale.
A special thank you to Dr. Steven Bollom, who cared for Dale both before and after his accident. His advice and guidance throughout the years has been much appreciated.
We also want to thank the staff at HSHS Home Health Care and Unity Hospice who took such good care of Dale in the last few weeks. Their presence and support meant so much to the family.