Thomas A. Duregger

Published by editor on Tue, 01/17/2023 - 4:06pm

Tom Duregger

Thomas Andrew Duregger, 67, of Garner passed away peacefully on January 16, 2023, at Concord Care Center, with his wife of 46 years by his side. Tom had been battling Stage Four Metastatic Melanoma since his diagnosis in early November of 2022.

Tom has requested a private family memorial to be held at a time yet to be determined. Cataldo FFuneral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Tom was born on May 21, 1955, in Castro Valley, California to Jean (Carney) Duregger of Marble Rock, Iowa, and Robert (Bob) Duregger, of Clear Lake, Iowa. After graduating from Sunset High School, in Hayward, California he joined his father in starting DuRegger Trucking which grew to serve Northern and Southern California hauling equipment with vans, flatbeds, and step-deck trailers. Tom married Catherine (Cathy) Lawrence of San Lorenzo, California on January 2, 1977, and over the next 10 years, they ran the business and brought up three children, Sean, Samuel, and Michelle. In 1987, Tom and Bob sold DuRegger Trucking as Bob neared retirement age.

During Tom’s elementary and high school years, Tom spent portions of the summer in Iowa visiting relatives with his family in their RV, including time at his Grandpa Carney’s farm in Marble Rock, Iowa. With this in mind, in 1988, Tom moved his growing family from Hayward, California to an acreage outside of Garner, Iowa to fulfill the dream of living on a farm. They raised sheep, chickens and grew alfalfa. Along with maintaining the acreage, Tom continued to work in the transportation industry in a variety of roles as a mechanic, long-haul trucker, oversized load hauler, broker and most recently working for Wess, Inc as a Fuel Transportation Specialist racking up over 4 million miles of driving all over the United States in his transportation career.

He was a member of the Republican Party of Hancock County and spent time volunteering at local parades and County Fair booths in support of Republican candidates and policies across Northern Iowa. His faith community was a large part of his life and spanned denominations, towns, and beliefs — he has been a consistent attendee at a Messianic Jewish Fellowship in Northwood and Webster City for the last eight years. Tom was a collector of knowledge, as every month there was something new he wanted to share and as many can attest from their time with him, he can talk for hours on the nuance of the latest conspiracy theory, religious interpretation, and/or political kerfluffle. He was energized by the dialogue and passed down insatiable curiosity to his kids and grandchildren.

Tom is survived by his wife, Cathy of Garner; sister, Linda Corwin; brother, Dave DuRegger; sons, Sean Duregger of Menifee, California, and Sam DuRegger of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; daughter, Michelle of Norman, Oklahoma; as well as seven grandchildren — Dani, Jacob, Hadassah, Amabel, Beatrice, Noah, and Sybil!

He was predeceased by his parents, Bob and Jean Duregger; and his older brother, Paul Duregger.