June 20, 1938 - May 9, 2024
Donald Leroy Lieth, passed away peacefully on 9 May 2024 surrounded by his family. He was preceded in death by his father, Herman Jerome Lieth, mother Doris Marie Sutton, his stepfather Earl Dailey and sister Jacqulin Mae Lieth. He is survived by his wife Pauline Lieth, brother Ricky Lieth and sister Jolyn Lieth, daughter Christine (Chris) Marie Ellis, son Claude Frankie (Frank) Lieth, and daughter Evelyn Maureen (Renee) Egner. He is also survived by his sons-in-law Michael Ellis and Dan Egner and his daughter-in-law, Juli Lieth and many-ous grandkids.
Don was a fun and gregarious person who loved to laugh and make others laugh. He worked many years as a Teamster in the position of stevedore at the Pacific Intermountain Express (PIE) trucking company and retired from Yellow trucking at the age of 55. He was a kind and generous man, giving family, friends, neighbors and sometimes strangers money when they needed it, never expecting or asking for re-payment. He was a great father doing any and all things for his family, just as his father Herman did. He was an intelligent man with a great mind, being able to quote long old poems by heart. His forte was playing pool, that helped sustain him when he would get laid off in the early years of working at PIE. He once played Willie Mosconi during an exhibition game and got creamed, 67 to 33 balls made. Don always claimed that Willie let him make some just so he wouldn’t feel bad. Strangely, Willie offered dad a job installing pool tables and dad said no, not wanting to be apart from his family and claiming it was too much work. He was once in a tri-state pool tournament in Omaha, he ran the table in the final game, winning the tournament. However, he didn’t put the coin behind the pocket of intention, and there was a dispute when someone in the crowd mentioned it. His friends and the Omaha crowd took offense, as the win was vacated, and he wouldn’t be driving home in the brand-new vehicle prize. So, the Omaha crowd rioted, with the vehicle being overturned and the official who called the other guy a winner, running out of the building without his shirt, pants and shoes.
He had the good fortune of being able to travel all over the world, with many adventures and misadventures. For instance, shortly after him and Pauline arrived in Aruba, he injected himself into a poker game with some of the locals in the lobby of the hotel they were staying at. During one of his early hands, he was dealt a straight flush and bet all the money they had for the trip and got beat by a higher straight flush! His son couldn’t believe a man who had hustled many a pool game, would be hustled in such a manner. The family had many laughs over the years recalling this event. Pauline and him took a few trips to Europe visiting their son and daughter-in-law in England and in Germany, where their son was stationed for the US Air Force. On one visit to Germany, he and Pauline had obtained a train pass for 21 days to travel all over Europe. They visited Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Spain and several other countries and only got separated once, due to Pauline running and jumping on a moving train. He didn’t like the idea of jumping on a moving train and would often say when retelling the story, “that’s only done in the movies!” They took several trips to the East Coast to visit their daughter and son-in-law Mike, who was stationed with the US Navy. Don loved to golf and got several of the family, including Pauline, involved in the game. He was able to play some of the worst golf on some of the best courses, even playing the Old Course in Scotland. Jokes galore he would tell, with some repetition over the years, but always good for a laugh. Awesome husband, dad, grandpa and friend…great times with him always and he’ll be sorely missed. He’s for sure running the pool tables in heaven now in his new, young body!
Per Don's wishes, no services will be held.
Braman Mortuary & Cremation Services
6505 S. 144 St. Omaha, NE 68137 / 402-895-3400
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