Denny William Gaul

Dennis “Denny” William Gaul was born to Aloys and Sylvia (Goeres) Gaul on October 22, 1945 outside of Earling, Iowa. He was the oldest of four children. In 1963, he graduated from St. Joseph’s School and worked at Leo’s Tractor Service while helping his dad on the farm. He served in the National Guard from August 1963 to February 1964 and remained in the reserves for several years after returning to farming.

On September 2, 1967, Denny married the love of his life, Sylvia Margaret Bruck. With help from his dad, he purchased a farm south of Westphalia and began his own farming operation. He milked cows from 1970 until 1993, doing chores twice a day, every day. Over the years, he also raised cattle, hogs, ducks, chickens, turkeys and other animals. Denny farmed alongside his brothers and children and continued to be involved in the operation even after considering himself “semi-retired.”

Denny was known for being able to fix and build things, often using metal and a welder. He enjoyed farm sales, farm shows, the Clay County Fair, fishing and his coffee group and breakfast outings. He was a seed corn dealer for several companies, with Miller Hybrids being his final dealership, and was also a grower for Stine Seed. He donated nearly 18 gallons of blood throughout his lifetime.

Family was very important to Denny. He was proud of his children and grandchildren and enjoyed giving his grandchildren rides in the combine and tractors and attending their activities. He was also known for his many plaid shirts, suspenders and his habit of giving people a hard time as a way of showing he liked them.

Denny was active in his church and community, serving on the St. Joseph School Board, helping with parish picnics and being involved with Shelby County Soil Conservation from 1974 until 2024, serving as chairperson until his retirement.

In 2010, Denny and Sylvia took an Alaskan cruise during sweet corn season, leaving the kids to handle things at home. This became an annual family tradition of everyone coming home to help with sweet corn.

Denny and Sylvia later lived together at LongView Nursing Home following a hospital stay with COVID. During his final days, he enjoyed sitting by the window in the therapy room with his coffee and visiting with the therapist and his family.

Denny passed away peacefully on Saturday, August 8, 2026 at LongView Nursing Home in Missouri Valley, Iowa attaining the age of 80 years, 9 months and 17 days. He was preceded in death by his parents, Aloys and Sylvia Gaul.

He is survived by his wife, Sylvia Gaul of Harlan, IA: children, Julie (Kent) McDermott of Minden, IA; Roger (Christine) Gaul of Bellevue, NE; Kenneth (Jenny) Gaul of Iowa City, IA; Jean (Justin) Schenkelberg of Carroll, IA; Mike (Carol) Gaul of Des Moines, IA; Kevin (Stacie) Gaul of Papillion, NE; 15 grandchildren; Adam, Alyssa, Ashton, Teagan, Cassandra, Mia, Frederick, Payton, Hailey, Alivia, Madison, Noah, Mason, Connor and Charlotte; siblings, Neal Gaul of Earling, IA; Larry (Yvonne) Gaul of Earling, IA; Arlene (Gary) Hull of Gretna, NE; sister-in-laws, Yvonne Bruck, Marian Wellman, Cheryl Bruck, Marilea Bruck, Joan Bruck, and Alice Bruck Willert.