DeLane Weston Brechwald, son of Emma Giese and Joseph Brechwald, was born at Holstein, Iowa on August 4, 1916. When he was 12 years old, his mother remarried and they moved to Shenandoah. Butch graduated from Shenandoah High School in 1934. After graduation he moved to Council Bluffs to work at his father's butcher shop. Later he worked as a bookkeeper for a brewery in Omaha. He later moved to California where he worked as a secretary for the Douglas Aircraft Company. In 1941 he joined the Navy as a radioman on the USS Dawson, which was a convoy ship during World War II. After the war he returned to Shenandoah where he did bicycle repair later becoming an expert Locksmith. On August 7, 1976 he was united in marriage to Darlene Fulkerson in Las Vegas, Nevada. He retired in 1999 from his locksmith business, later working for Scharp Glass until failing health forced him to retire again in 2001. He was a member of the American Legion Post # 88 and the Amvets of Shenandoah. He was preceded in death by his parents. Survivors include his loving wife Darlene and many friends.
Graveside memorial services were held on Monday, January 16, 2006, at 1:00 p.m. at the Veterans Memorial Chapel at Rose Hill Cemetery in Shenandoah. Words of comfort were given by Pastor Fred Pearrow and Rev. Vern Smith. Military rites were accorded by the Shenandoah American Legion Post #88 of Shenandoah. Inurnment was in the Rose Hill Cemetery.