by Mari Radtke
Darrell Downs served. He demonstrated his faithfulness in so many ways; faith, family, community, and industry. Darrell was born at St. Benedict, Iowa, near Algona. He was placed at the St. Monica’s Orphanage in Sioux City. His mother did not allow an adoption until he was nearly two. Doris said, “He love his mom and dad. He had a great family.”
After college, Darrell accepted employment with the Illinois seed company, Moorman’s Manufacturing. That job took him to Sibley, Iowa where he met his lifelong partner, Doris. She and her two sons, Greg and Steve, started life with Darrell which brought them to Marcus in 1968. Their daughter Darcy was born and the family of five grew deep roots in the small community. Steve is settled in Urbandale while Greg and Darcy remain in Marcus. The roots sprouted from Darrell and Doris and the three children to seven grandchildren and thirteen great grand children.
Through the years, Darrell remained dedicated to his faith. He was a lifelong member of Holy Name Catholic Church in Marcus, teaching CCD for many years. He was a member of Knights of Columbus.
Darrell retired in 1994. But returned to work with Sand Seed, the successor company to Moorman’s, for another decade. He continued serving the agriculture community and gaining knowledge, insights and connections to agriculture in ways beyond the food chain. He and Ed Sand traveled the area learning, sharing and working with their customers.
In the extended ag industry he was instrumental in the ethanol industry and particularly in bringing Little Sioux Corn Processors to Marcus. The independent ethanol producer changed the landscape and significantly benefitted the economy of the Marcus area. He served on the board of directors for the Jackson, NE ethanol plant also.
It wasn’t just in business that Downs served. Through the years he was a Marcus City Councilman and mayor for seventeen years. He spent time daily at city hall. He developed a good working relationship with SIMPCO, CAEDC and other resource organizations to help strengthen the economic environment in Marcus. Following his days as an elected official, Darrell kept pushing to strengthen the economic environment. He took on the job of Economic Development Director for Marcus. It paid very little, but by then it was clear that money was not Darrell’s real reward. He worked daily to attract or expand business in Marcus. Successful projects for which Darrell had a varying degrees of involvement include the Marcus Business Park (winning $200,000 from the state for its construction) , Kingsley Dental, Hog Slat, Marcus Eye Care Center, Heartland Care Center, Jordan’s Meat Market and round 2 of Pizza Ranch. He had involvement in HyVee Drug Store in Marcus and CRMC Physical Therapy. Certainly there are more projects that may have Darrell’s fingerprint.

Passing away on February 1, 2025 soon after his 87 birthday, the success of Darrell’s biggest project was announced – a Career Academy in Marcus administered by Northwest Iowa Community College. The $1 million grant was awarded by the State of Iowa and has two years to reach reality. In December 2024 the Northwest Iowa Community College Board of Directors approved awarding certificates and diplomas for welding through the MMCRU program. Tatum Hicks, 2025 MMCRU graduate was awarded the Darrell Downs Scholarship to NCC. Darrell was not able to see the award by the Marcus Foundation.
His 87th birthday, December 26, 2024, was celebrated at Four Brothers in LeMars at the insistence of granddaughter Molly. All of his family in the area were able to attend, although he didn’t want a party. The highlight – his two and a half year old twin granddaughters singing “Happy Birthday.”