Daniel D. Doty

Daniel D. Doty, age 61, of Montezuma, passed away suddenly on Tuesday, November 28, 2023, at Grinnell Regional Medical Center. A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m., Friday, December 8, 2023, at Community Hope Assembly of God Church in Montezuma, with Rev. Joe Goemaat officiating. Family will receive friends from 4 to 7 p.m., Thursday, December 7, 2023, at Community of Hope Church, Montezuma. A memorial fund has been established. Kloster Funeral Home, Brooklyn is assisting the family with arrangements.

Left to cherish Daniel’s memory, is his wife of 35 years, Shawn; his three children, Kenton (Allison) Doty, of Caldwell, ID, Kendra (David) Daly, of Brooklyn, IA and Kurtis (Megan) Doty, of Melcher, IA; four grandchildren, Grant and Gracen Doty and Laura and Henry Doty. He was preceded in death by his parents and grandparents. Daniel Dean Doty was born in Grinnell on March 31, 1962. He was the eldest of three sons, of the late Floyd and Jeanne (Powers) Doty.

Active in farming from a young age, Daniel was an officer in the Brooklyn FFA chapter and started raising hogs of his own as a teen. He graduated from BGM High School, in Brooklyn in 1980, and continued on in his education to earn a degree in Swine Confinement Management from Ellsworth Community College, in Iowa Falls. During this time he was known for getting pulled over by the cops for driving with Root Beer. Daniel returned home and farmed with his grandfather Forest Doty for a year before returning for more education. He then went on to earn his Bachelors degree in 1988, in Farm Operations from Iowa State University. It was there that he met the love of his life and life-long partner, Shawn Torbert. Together, they learned how to ballroom dance and scuba dive. On July 9, 1988, Daniel was united in marriage to Shawn, in New Sharon. Together with his family, they farmed hand in hand between Montezuma and Brooklyn, raising crops and livestock.

Daniel was a long-term member of the Poweshiek County Extension Council, Iowa Pork Producers Association and the Iowa Cattleman’s Association and truly loved anything that involved agriculture and farming. While he was happiest on the farm, Daniel enjoyed taking road trips, snow skiing, and trying a variety of foods. While doing all those things he brought the love of farming and agriculture with him. From stopping road trips to watch sugar cane being harvested, to asking waitresses where their lamb was sourced from or going out to visit friends and family and insisting to do their chores along side with them, his curiosity about how the world farmed was insatiable. Rarely on time for any event, everyone usually knew he had arrived as Daniel’s volume was permanently set to outdoors from years of farming. He was also usually the last to leave after a true midwestern goodbye. Even running into him on the road and rolling down your window could turn into an hour check-in, as he asked you about everything in your life. He was everybody’s biggest cheerleader, and encouragement came easy with a big hug (whether you wanted one or not) after any set backs. And when there were wins, no matter how small, he was always proud of you and they were celebrated loudly and always with another hug. While he never stayed at a particular church for long, his faith, reliance and love were felt by all who knew him. It was hard for him to give up on anyone and it didn’t matter if it was a friend in need or a calf needing nursing. A true farmer in every sense, he wanted to see everyone and everything around him grow and flourish. He gained new friends wherever he went throughout his life and often they became like family. The door was always open and there was usually time for a soft drink and always time for ice cream even if that meant doing chores in the dark. Daniel wore many hats over the years, son, brother, husband, dad, neighbor, friend, and possibly his favorite promotion was to grandpa.