Donald G. Svoboda, a devoted father of three, died on March 23, 2021, at his home in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Born on April 26, 1943, in David City, Nebraska, Don was the youngest of Anton and Eva Svoboda’s six children, and brother to Marc, Al, Norman, Doris and Margery. A star athlete at St. Mary’s High School in David City, he played in the 1961 Shrine Bowl with Gale Sayers. Don was on stage in 2012 when the Nebraska High School Hall of Fame recognized the St. Mary’s football team as a “Dominant Dynasty.”
After high school, Don went to work with State Farm Insurance in Lincoln, where he built a four-decade career. There, he met Karen Torring, whom he married in 1966. They had three children: Brian, Wendy and Aaron. Don was a constant, encouraging presence in his children’s activities and development.
Funny, frank and wise, Don was a patient listener and a reliable source of common sense and good advice for his family, friends, and children’s friends. When he retired from State Farm, his colleagues remembered his stock phrase: “Acknowledge and move on.” During retirement, Don enjoyed the daily companionship of his friends over breakfast in northeast Lincoln.
Don’s lifetime love of sports found outlets through his children’s and grandchildren’s activities. He often went to the football games where his daughter, Wendy, worked as an athletic trainer in Texas, and where his son, Aaron, worked as a high school band director. He regularly traveled to Arlington, Virginia, to visit his son Brian’s family, and was an annual presence at his grandchildren’s school variety show.
Don is survived by his children, Brian, Wendy and Aaron; his sister, Doris Mocio of Fort Worth, Texas; his daughters-in-law, Sheila Smith of Arlington, Virginia, and Brittany Svoboda of New Orleans, Louisiana; and his grandchildren, John Svoboda and Katie Svoboda of Arlington, Virginia.
His Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 27, 2021, at St. John the Apostle Catholic Church at 7601 Vine Street in Lincoln.