Dale Wamberg
WAUSA — Funeral services for Dale Wamberg, 92, Wausa, will be at 2 p.m., Thursday, July 28, at Evangelical Covenant Church, Wausa. Rev. Matthew Norlen will officiate, with burial in Woodlawn Cemetery, Wausa.
Military honors will be provided by the Army National Guard Honor Guard.
Visitation will be Wednesday, from 5-7 p.m., at the church.
Brockhaus Funeral Home, Wausa, is in charge of arrangements.
Dale died July 24, 2022, at Good Samaritan Society, Bloomfield.
Dale “Whitey” Wamberg was born April 16, 1930, in Wausa, to William and Aina Wamberg. He graduated from Wausa High School in 1947. Dale received his bachelor’s degree from Wayne State College and his master’s degree from the University of Minnesota. In 1951, he entered the U.S. Army for two years, where he was stationed in Texas, Colorado, Massachusetts and Germany. During this time, he was in the Medical Corps and spent his time as an occupational therapy technician. He also played baseball during his deployment. Dale was a member of the 36th Field Artillery Group baseball team that finished second in the European Command. Dale returned to Nebraska after his discharge where he taught and coached in Wynot and Niobrara. During his tenure in Niobrara, he met Mary Ann Tichy. They were married June 25, 1956. Mary Ann was the daughter of Adolph and Helen Tichy. Dale and Mary Ann were blessed with six children, Stan, Roger, Cheryl, Vicki, Dave and Dan.
A highlight for Dale in 1956 was playing baseball against pitcher, Bob Gibson, who went on to play for the St. Louis Cardinals. The Wausa Swedes were proud to beat Gibson in two of the three games.
The couple moved to Elgin, where Dale was the superintendent. In 1957, they moved to Iowa where he served as a school administrator, three years at Moorhead and seven years at Climbing Hill.
In 1967, the family moved back to Wausa. They bought the farm three miles north of town where Dale’s grandparents, the Nels Johnsons, had lived and raised their family. Dale’s mother, Aina, was born in this house. Dale became the high school principal and activities/athletic director at Wausa Public School. He farmed on the homestead and sold insurance to schools across the state.
Dale was an active member of the Evangelical Covenant Church, Wausa, where he served as the adult Sunday School teacher and treasurer. For the Memorial Day programs in Wausa, Dale was the Earl Norman Legion Post 63 Adjutant. He oversaw the youth baseball program, managing and coaching Little League, Midgets and American Legion teams for many years, sometimes coaching five teams at once. After 27 years of being the principal in Wausa, Dale retired in 1994. He continued to farm, sell school insurance, and coach baseball.
Dale loved his family, baseball, and spent time sharing his passion of fishing with his kids. He was still coaching baseball and pitching when he was 80 years old. He figured he had pitched more than a million batting practice pitches, and played or coached over 2,000 games. He spent so much time on the baseball diamond in Wausa that it was named after him.
Dale and Mary Ann celebrated 62 years of marriage before her passing in 2019. Dale then moved to Countryside Villa, Wausa, and just recently moved to Good Samaritan Society, Bloomfield.
Dale is survived by his children, Stan Wamberg, Centennial Wyo.; Roger (Cathy) Wamberg, Wausa; Vicki (Keith) Byrkit, David City; David (Kim) Wamberg, Fullerton; and Dan (Angie) Wamberg, Wausa; grandchildren, Matt Wamberg, Nathan Wamberg, Jason (Brooke) Wamberg, Kayla (Justin) Lackas, Scott Byrkit, Kate Byrkit, Brian Wamberg, Brandon Wamberg, Dillon Wamberg, Dawson Wamberg and Alexa Wamberg; and four great-grandchildren, Cayden and Payton Wamberg, and Zoey and Hannah Lackas; and sister, Donna Vance, Lee’s Summit, Mo.
Preceding him in death were his parents; wife, Mary Ann; daughter, Cheryl Wamberg; daughter-in-law, Jeanne Wamberg; mother- and father-in-law, Helen and Adolph Tichy; brother-in-law, Paul Vance; sister-in-law and her husband, Janice and Kenny Teadtke.