Remembering the Dr. that helped bring me into this world…

I haven’t turned my blog to the obit section, but just wanted to take a minute to remember one amazing man, Dr. Degallier, who delivered me in 1974.

Dr. Daniel Degallier
July 6, 1923 — Sept. 17, 2008

Dr. Daniel Degallier was delivered back into the hands of the Creator on Sept. 17, 2008. He was first delivered into this world July 6, 1923, to Edmond and Marie (Rochat) Degallier in La Chaux de Fonds, Switzerland. He was raised and educated in Lausanne, Switzerland, and immigrated to the U.S. in 1950 to intern at Bethesda Hospital in St. Paul. Then, he spent two years of residency training at Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis (one year in pathology and one year in Ob-Gyn). In 1953, he went to Germany as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army and delivered many babies there. Returning in 1956, he completed one more year of residency training at Minneapolis General Hospital. In 1957, he came to Winona and practiced his specialty of Ob-Gyn with Dr. Boardman before joining the Winona Clinic in 1958, where he continued to practice until his retirement in July 1993.

Daniel married Lucienne Raymond in 1946 but was later divorced. They had one son, Jon (Alice) Degallier of Ukiah, Calif. He married Velma Runkel (Ask) in 1960. They had three sons, David (Jan) Degallier, Paul (Sue) Degallier of Winona and Mark (Beth) Degallier of Fountain City, Wis. He also gained a stepdaughter in his marriage to Velma, Carol (Mark) Freed of Coon Rapids, Minn. They also had numerous grandchildren. He was the youngest of four children. A brother and sister, Michael Degallier and Nancy Chetteoui go before him, as have their parents. A brother, Roland (Ann-Marie) still resides in Paris.

He was a member of many associations, including president of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL) and the Exchange Club of Winona. He was also a member of the Pleasant Valley Evangelical Free Church, the Gideons, the Community Concert Association and the American College of Ob-Gyn. He was on staff at Winona General Hospital and then at Winona Community Memorial Hospital.

Daniel was an accomplished pilot and loved flying, even building his own aircraft, including full-sized and model airplanes. He loved music and art. He played the flute and painted with expertise. He had a passion for playing baroque music with his children with four harpsichords that he built. In 1967, he designed a cabin for his family and for many years took pleasure in spending time with them snow-skiing, windsurfing, and sailing and water skiing in the boats that he built. He also enjoyed shooting rapids in kayaks he made and camping in his homemade tent. He liked building furniture and home decorating and was excellent with a needle and thread, both as a tailor and a surgeon.

Above all this, he was a committed, devoted man of principle who stood firm for what he believed in, one of which was his faith. He loved his career because he claimed that he got to see life coming into the world. He was honored and privileged to be able to catch in his hands more than 10,000 miraculous creations of God.

Services to remember Dan will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Sept. 19, at Pleasant Valley Church, Winona, with the Rev. Rick Iglesias officiating. Interment will be at Woodlawn Cemetery, Winona.

Visitation will be 6 to 8 p.m., today, Sept. 18, at Fawcett-Junker Funeral Home, Winona, and at the church Friday beginning at 9:30 a.m.

For the last several years of his life, he suffered from Alzheimer’s, diabetes and finally cancer. Thanks to the miracles of modern medicine, the labor of transition from this world to the next was eased for him. We look forward to the day when those of us who trust in Jesus Christ, as he did, will see him again. Dan no longer follows Jesus, but walks with him hand in hand. Praise His name.

Thank You Dr. Degallier!
Jamie, The Diabetic Runner