Donald Knecht, 90, of Elk Point, South Dakota passed away peacefully on Thursday, March 11, 2021 at Kingsley Specialty Care in Kingsley, Iowa with his family by his side. Graveside service will be held at 1:00 p.m., Tuesday, March 16, 2021 at Hillside Cemetery in Merrill, Iowa with military honors. It is open to the public for those who want to attend. Don was born on December 22, 1930, the son of Roy & Leona Knecht of Akron IA. He was one of six children. Don served in the U.S. Army for 3 years and soon after his honorable discharge, he met the love of his life, Gladys and they married on August 29, 1954. They were blessed with six children, Marvin, Steve, Melvin, Deb, Alan, and Darwin. Don worked for Load King before going into private business of owning and running his own used auto dealership for many years. Don had a passion for building car trailers and refurbishing old tractors, actually anything that had wheels he enjoyed tinkering with. He loved playing cribbage and cards with his brothers & their wives and socializing with all the residences of Elk Point. Don was never lost for words, and enjoyed sharing times & stories with his children, grandchildren & great-grandchildren. Survivors are his children, Marvin D. Knecht of Ontario, CA, Steve Knecht of Sioux City, IA, Melvin E. Knecht of Elk Point, Debra L. Knecht-Baus of Pewaukee, WI, Alan R. (Sharon) Knecht of Chandler, AZ, and Darwin (Maureen) Knecht of South Sioux City, NE; 12 grandchildren; 6 great-grandchildren. He also is survived by his sister, Mary Jean Hamburger of Yankton, SD.