Darwin R. Soder, Jr. was born August 31, 1947, in Wichita, KS, to Darwin R Soder, Sr. and Ruth Marie Bergman. His grandparents were all of Norwegian or Swedish descent; his mother and her siblings were the first generation born in the United States. Dar was always very proud of his Scandinavian heritage.

Dar is survived by his beloved wife of almost 50 years, LaRonda Soder, as well as two adult daughters and their families:  Inga Decker of Northfield, MN, her husband, Michael, and Kieran, their son; and Aidan Soder and her daughter Caitlin, of Overland Park, KS.  Dar is also survived by three brothers: elder brother Jon Soder of Sarasota, FL; and younger brothers Dr. Eric Soder (Lisa) and Dr. David Soder (Anne), both of Roseburg, OR.  Dar is also survived by numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews, as well as great nieces and nephews.

During Dar’s grade school years in Wichita, he took piano lessons and was a member of the Wichita Boys Choir.  Because he disliked the name “Darwin,” he took it upon himself to change his name to Bill – Bill Soder – at least that’s what he wrote on his piano lesson books.  Fortunately, his teacher and parents humored him.  He enjoyed several years as a Boy Scout, and especially a trip to Philmont Scout Ranch. Family summer vacations were often spent at Lake of the Ozarks or Spirit Lake, IA, with close family friends.  These vacations continued into adulthood, at which point Dar, his brothers, and their families joined in the lake vacations, enjoying boating, skiing, and fishing.

Dar attended Wichita State University, where he met and fell in love with LaRonda.  He earned his degree in Industrial Engineering, following in the footsteps of his father, who was also an engineer. While in college, Dar enjoyed serving as a volunteer Sheriff’s Deputy under famed sheriff, Vern Miller. Dar and LaRonda married in 1969, and remained in Wichita for only one more year before moving to Omaha, NE, where Dar took his first job. 

The bulk of Dar’s career was spent “in the water business” – first at Layne Western, Inc. – a well-drilling company providing city water wells and sanitary improvement districts.  Dar finished out his career working at Culligan Water in Omaha, where he was a salesman and design engineer of water purification systems for hospitals, dialysis centers and local businesses.  In 1991, Dar received the “Top Gun” award for excellence in sales at the National Culligan Convention, an award he was always very proud of and would jokingly refer to as his “really major award”!

Dar’s two greatest loves were his family and Jesus.  He became a born-again believer in 1980 after a near-fatal car crash, and pledged to live the rest of his life in service to Christ.  He loved the study of the Bible, and for nearly 20 years he served as Substitute Teaching Leader in Omaha for men’s Bible Study Fellowship (BSF International).  He also served as an Elder at Evangelical Bible Church in Omaha, and then as a Deacon at First Baptist Church, Cassville, MO, after he and LaRonda retired to the Table Rock Lake area.

Dar loved to learn new things, and he was an avid reader of history (he was quite the WWII buff). He could complete almost any household project; if he didn’t know how to do it, he was at the library to learn how.  He had many hobbies, and making soap was one he particularly enjoyed.  Dar spent hundreds of hours perfecting his recipe, churning out batch after batch of soaps, using essential oils and herbs (his favorite recipe used goat milk!) – all this long before “boutique soaps” became hip!

Upon retirement, Dar and LaRonda moved to their home on Table Rock Lake in Shell Knob, MO.  He loved teaching his grandchildren to fish and rounding up everyone to take long sight-seeing boat rides.  He enjoyed their many visits from friends and family! 

It was during their retirement years that Dar and LaRonda got to travel.  In the States, Maine was their favorite vacation destination, where Dar could be found digging for mussels at low tide or going to a lobster boil. They also enjoyed overseas trips to England, Ireland, and Scotland, and later to France and Italy. Their dream trip, however, was a 10-day, 2012 tour of the Holy Land, sponsored by Moody Bible Institute.

Dar entered into his eternal rest on April 15, with his family at his side. There will be a Celebration of Life service for him on Saturday, July 13, 10:30 a.m., at the Wesley Covenant Chapel, Church of the Resurrection, in Leawood, KS.