Douglas Conrad

Douglas “Doug” Raymon Conrad, age 70, of Newcastle, Nebraska, passed into eternal glory with the Lord Jesus, surrounded by his loving family on Friday, January 3, 2025 at Bergan Mercy Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska.

A memorial service will be 10:30 AM on Thursday, January 9, 2025, at Calvary Baptist Church in Yankton, South Dakota, with Reverend Errin Mulberry officiating. Burial will be at a later date in the Newcastle Cemetery in Newcastle Nebraska. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the memorial service on Thursday at the church. Arrangements are under the direction of the Wintz & Ray Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Yankton.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in-memoriam to the Nebraska Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (https://www.cff.org/chapters/nebraska-chapter) in support of Doug’s granddaughter, Maddie. 

Doug was born in Sioux City, Iowa in March 1954, the oldest child of Darrel and Beverly (Dickey) Conrad. The family made their home in rural Newcastle, Nebraska, the small farming town where Doug would live for his entire life. As a child, Doug grew up farming with his dad and relatives. He worked and played hard with his brothers, sister, and a plethora of cousins, enjoying the creek that ran by their home, dogs, horses, and hunting. He was nurtured in his faith in Jesus Christ as his Savior at the family’s church, Gospel Chapel. Doug graduated from Newcastle Public School in 1972 and Western Iowa Tech’s diesel mechanic program.

In 1974, Doug married Julie Jensen, and two cherished daughters were born to their union. Doug farmed with his father and later worked for companies such as Wilson Trailor and Alignment Specialists in Sioux City, Iowa. Doug married the love of his life, Kim Smith, in August of 1980, raising three children in the Newcastle area. With characteristic grit and courage, Doug and Kim purchased a pasture field and turned it into a beautiful acreage home. Doug was a true farmer and conservationist on his property, planting hundreds of trees and nurturing an extensive lawn until the place looked like a nature preserve. He was an avid outdoorsman and adventurer, sharing with his family his love for pheasant hunting, horseback riding and mules, camping, boating, scuba diving, mountain climbing, and marathon running. Doug was the owner of his successful business, Doug’s Truck Alignment, which he handed over to his son upon his retirement in the spring of 2020. Doug was a man of true strength, unshakeable faith and steadfastness, and moral courage.

Grateful for sharing his life is his wife of 44 years, Kim Conrad; children Jennifer (Jason) Miller of Omaha, Nebraska, Rebecca (Jason) McCarville of Omaha Nebraska, Heather (Matthew) Siebert of Yankton, South Dakota, Josh (Rachel) Conrad of Vermillion, South Dakota, and Hanna (Adam) DeLange of Vermillion, South Dakota; 14 grandchildren: Wyatt, Reily, and Vanessa Miller; Calvin and Madeline McCarville; Benjamin, Evelyn, Noah, Lilianne, Josiah, and Ezekiel Siebert; and Kade, Avery, and Payton Conrad; his mother, Beverly Conrad of Yankton; and siblings: Eric (Kitty) Conrad, Garry (Charlotte) Conrad, and Kris (David) Thomas were lifelong friends. 

Doug is preceded in death by his father, Darrel Conrad, grandparents Jack and Clara Conrad and Dean and Grace Dickey, an infant brother, Kenneth Lee, and treasured aunts and uncles.