In Memory of Dudley Ullrich

Dudley Ullrich, age 71, of Denison, Iowa, passed away on March 30, 2025, at his residence surrounded by his family.

A Funeral Service will be held at 10:30 a.m., Friday, April 4, 2025, at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Denison, Iowa. Pastor Brian Rihner will officiate. Committal will be in the Kiron Cemetery.

Visitation will be held from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Thursday, April 3, 2025, at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Denison, Iowa.

In lieu of flowers memorials may be directed to The Shed Ministries at 107 Clover Street, Kiron, Iowa 51448 or Grace E- Free Church at 305 Cabalka Ct, Denison, Iowa, 51442, in loving memory of Dudley.  

The Christensen-Van Houten Funeral Home of Ida Grove, Iowa, is in charge of the funeral arrangements.  Condolences may be sent online at www.christensenvanhouten.com

Dudley was born on December 31, 1953, to Donald and Ramona Ullrich.  He attended grade school in Kiron, Iowa and graduated from Denison High School in 1972.  Dudley was united in marriage to Rebecca Veit Curnyn on December 3, 1975 and was blessed with three children: Adam, Levi and Sara.

Dudley grew up in the First Baptist Church in Kiron and was baptized at the age of 12.  He became active in his local church at the age of 23 and remained active throughout his life.  While a member of the Kiron Baptist Church Dudley taught youth and adult Bible Studies, Sunday school, served on the building committee, the board of education and served as a Deacon. 

Dudley had a passion for teaching people, especially the youth, about Jesus.  He volunteered as a camp counselor and served on the Board of Directors at Pine Lake Christian Camp.  It was always an adventure when Dudley drove the church van to and from Pine Lake.

In the mid-1990s Dudley helped start a youth group which is now known as “The Shed.”  The youth group began at the Kiron Baptist Church but grew quickly and eventually required more space, so the group moved to a shed at Dudley’s farmstead.  The group continued to grow after Dudley’s involvement and now occupies its own facility in Kiron.

Dudley was part of the grass roots effort to start Grace E-Free Church, now located in Denison, where he remained a regular attender until passing.

Dudley loved driving, riding, flying, or racing anything with a motor.  He was also known to crash things with motors from time to time.  One of his earliest hobbies was riding motorcycles.  Dudley could ride a wheelie or hill climb with the best of them.  He also enjoyed flying, tractor pulling and had fond memories of snowmobile trips with his friends and family.  While Dudley was not able to swim, that didn’t stop him from boating and teaching dozens of people how to water ski.  If you couldn’t learn to ski with Dudley, it was likely a skill you would never master.

Farming was Dudley’s passion, and he built a successful farming business.  Like many farmers, Dudley enjoyed planting, growing and harvesting the crops he raised.  He enjoyed driving the country roads inspecting the crops and his farms, especially with his sons.  He also enjoyed going to land auctions and often would remark, “It’s the greatest show on Earth.”  There were few things in life Dudley enjoyed more than buying a farm and fixing it up. 

Dudley married Julie Brungardt of Omaha, Nebraska on December 22, 2018.  Julie turned Dudley into a sports fan, which was odd since Dudley didn’t typically spend a lot of time on pursuits which didn’t involve making money.  Dudley very much enjoyed spending time with Julie, her children and grandchildren.  Family gatherings were time well spent to Dudley and he cherished his time on the farm with his grandchildren.  He was adamant that his children, stepchildren and grandchildren have a relationship with Jesus and teach others to follow Him.

Dudley’s work ethic was incredible.  Those who really knew Dudley were very much aware of his determination and his drive.  He was always competing, sometimes with others, but most of the time with himself.  After being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Dudley told a small group of people, “I’m kind of excited to see how much I can take.”    He set the bar high. 

Dudley was generous with his time and his resources.  He understood both his time and resources were blessings from the Lord and he was happy to share both.  Dudley will be remembered for his love for the Lord, love for his family and friends, his tenacity and his desire for those around him to read the Bible and to follow the example of Jesus.

Surviving Dudley are his wife, Julie Ullrich, his three children: Adam (Deanna) Ullrich of Denison, Iowa and their three children, Alisyn, Luke and Seth; Levi (Laura) Ullrich of Kiron, Iowa, and their four children, Keaton, Gavin, Declan and Delaney; Sara (Matt) Roeder of Arthur, Iowa and their two children, Mason and Ella.  Dudley is also survived by three stepchildren: Mark Brungardt of Omaha, Nebraska and his son Tyce; Greg (Jalyn) Brungardt of Parkville, Missouri and their two daughters Paityn and Gracie; and Nicole Brungardt of Omaha, Nebraska.  Dudley is also survived by his brothers, Kyle Ullrich and Jeffrey Ullrich.