Donald Franklin Day

Memorials to Westside Church for Christian International Foundation, Inc. (CIFI) Bill Pearson Donald Franklin Day was born on September 2, 1933 on the family farm in Buffalo County, Nebraska to Glen and Alice (Boyd) Day. He grew up on that farm, attended country school and graduated from Miller High School in 1949. As a young boy, Don was a talented athlete, competing in baseball, football, basketball and track. Don married Patricia Goodwin in October of 1954 in Lake Manawa, Iowa and they were blessed with four children: Michael, Mark, Kelley and Patrick. Other than the time when Don was in the service, Don and Patricia made their home in Omaha. Shortly after they were married, Don began an 2 year stint in the Army, spending time in Korea in a non-combat capacity. Years later he attended University of Omaha at night while working full time in the Real Estate world to receive his business degree. Don worked at Swift Packing House, Goodrich Tires and Morin Real Estate before starting at Dial Realty in 1959 and growing it into one of the most successful and respected real estate companies in the state. He was a marathon runner and enjoyed traveling with Pat but his passion was his business. Even when he was “relaxing” at home, he could be seen concentrating on his “yellow pad” working out the details of his to-do list for the coming days. Don was a selfless, positive, forgiving man with a genuine love of people. He possessed a true “Can Do” attitude and believed in everyone’s ability to accomplish more than seemed possible. Through all of his life, Don would respond to a question about him with “I couldn’t be better”. Don passed away peacefully on Tuesday, June 26, 2018 at the Methodist Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska with his family by his side at the age of 84 years 9 months and 24 days. He was preceded in death by his parents Glen and Alice, wife Patricia and brother’s Bobbie and Bill. Don is survived by children Michael and Tammy Day, Mark Day, Kelley A. Day and Patrick and Jennifer Day all of Omaha; 11 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren; sister Glenola Kleckner of Kearney, NE. Today we learned that Don Day, a great man, leader, innovator, mentor, father, and friend has passed away. Don Day was responsible for the opportunity for thousands of people to earn a living for their families and make a positive impact in their communities. Anyone who met Don knew that he treated every person as if they were the most important person in the room. In the eyes of Don, we all had more potential to be greater than we actual believed in ourselves. It was this quality that attracted so many people into the Dial circle of family and friends. It was not unlike Don at all to give someone an opportunity that nobody else would give that individual. Over the many years, Don found and mentored countless people and gave them their first shot at doing something great. He founded our company back in 1959, however, in his humble nature, he would be the first person to correct you and give the credit to others. His humility taught a great lesson in life. He always gave the credit to those around him. Don built this company and made it what it is today, but you would never hear him talk about his own achievements. After being stationed in Korea, while serving in the Army, Don moved from a small farming community in Western Nebraska to Omaha. Since that time, Dial grew from nothing into one of the premier real-estate firms in the country. He built a legacy on the principal that if you could imagine it, surround yourself with great people, and work harder than everyone else, you would achieve it. Don loved to prove that great things would happen even when nobody else thought it could. He did not fear a challenge, in fact, it was the challenge that drove him. He would never let adversity slow him from finding the next great opportunity. In fact, it is hard to find anything that would slow him. He exuded the philosophy of never quit striving to be better and it was infectious to everyone around him. Don also inspired a value that we talk about on a daily basis. FAMILY! How many times do we say we are a family at Dial? We got this from Don and his family. They have shown us that no matter what you accomplish in your business life, it is nothing without family. He has made us all feel like we are an extension of his family. This has always been the foundation to the success of Dial over many years, and we have simply tried to continue to uphold this commitment in everything we do as well. All of us, either directly or indirectly, have been affected in a positive way by Don. His leadership has taught us the principals that we try to instill and inspire in those that we lead and mentor. Humility, team-work, confidence, a desire to be better, service to others, work-ethic, an entrepreneurial spirit, a positive attitude, believing and trusting in people, taking a chance knowing that we might fail, getting up and fighting harder when we do fail, building relationships, caring about people, honesty, integrity, and last but not least… FAMILY. It is with great honor that we say we knew this man and learned from this man. We will miss the spirit that filled our hearts and fueled our passion. We will miss this man that believed in us and made us believe in ourselves. We will miss him, but we will carry on the legacy that he cultivated and inspired and we will never forget what he instilled in all of us. Thank you Don Day, you were a great man and a great example for all of us to follow. Sincerely, The Dial Retirement Communities Family

Donald Franklin Day

September 2, 1933 - June 26, 2018