Darrell Eugene Porter, 90, passed away in Ankeny, Iowa on November 9th, 2026.

Visitation will be held from 10:00 – 11:00 a.m., Tuesday, November 17, 2026, at Memorial Services of Iowa (4208 N. Ankeny Blvd., Ankeny). A funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m., also at the funeral home, with a private family burial following the service at Ankeny Memorial Gardens.

Darrell was born on August 6, 1936, to Donald and Dorothy (Jacobs) Porter at his grandparents’ farm in People’s Township of Boone County, Iowa. Weighing a mere 3 pounds 4 ounces, Darrell was welcomed into the world during unprecedented triple digit temperatures, severe drought, and the Great Depression. He lived most of his childhood in Perry, Iowa.

In 6th grade choir and band, Darrell discovered his love of music and started performing at school, church, and in the community. At age 15, he contracted polio and spent six months at Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines. After recovering, he returned to Perry High School and with a new lease on life, excelling in the classroom, in music, and in sports. Darrell took part in theater, choir, band, basketball, track, and was co-captain of the football team.

After graduating high school in 1954, Darrell studied architecture at Iowa State University for a year until he was lured away from college by music…and lack of tuition money. He traveled the country as a featured vocalist singing the hotel and club circuit with several big bands such as Jan Garber’s Orchestra at the Roosevelt Hotel Blue Room in New Orleans. When in the Midwest, he performed at classic Iowa venues such as The Surf Ballroom and The Val Air Ballroom.

Darrell joined the US Army in 1958 where he was stationed in Fort Carson Colorado for basic training. He tested into The Army Information School at Fort Slocum in Long Island, New York where he was trained in psychological warfare and radio. Upon completion, Darrell was assigned to Special Forces in the 82nd Airborne at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. While at Fort Bragg, Darrell auditioned for the All-Army Entertainment Contest where he won best vocalist. He then won the next level of vocal competition at Fort Belvoir Virginia which secured his assignment as lead vocalist for the US Army worldwide variety show tour called “Rolling Along 1959”. The intense nine-month whirlwind tour kicked off with an appearance and solo for Darrell on the Ed Sullivan Show’s annual All-Army Show. Over the next year, Darrell and the show troupe performed at army bases and community theaters all over the world, including Italy, France, Germany, South Korea, Japan, Panama, Alaska, Hawaii, and elsewhere.

Two notable memories for Darrell were one, receiving a standing ovation after singing at the Berliner Ensemble in the historical Theater am Schiffbauerdamm in East Berlin, Germany and two, was parachuting out of a Douglas C-47 Skytrain Army plane and into an Alaska snowstorm in the middle of the night during an emergency evacuation due to a malfunctioning engine and landing gear.

Upon returning to Fort Bragg after the variety show tour, Darrell ran the base playhouse, started a third Army Chorus, and did his share of performing in plays and musicals there as well. He was discharged from the Army in 1962 and moved to Chicago to resume singing. He joined the David Blum Quintet at the Governor’s Room in North Carolina, worked with Jimmy Caesar in Wisconsin, and joined Don Hoy in performing shows, television, and ballrooms in several states.

While still singing, Darrell began working at John Deere Des Moines Works in Ankeny where he retired 30 years later as purchasing supervisor. In 1963, he met Barbara Ault on a blind date, and they were married the following year. He and Barbara had two children, Randy and Pamela, and his professional music gigs eventually gave way to activities with his kids: bowling, golfing, fishing, coaching youth sports teams, and more. Not one to sit still, Darrell shared his lyric baritone voice with the First United Methodist Church choir for many years. He also kept busy fishing, golfing, hunting wild game and mushrooms, bowling with several leagues, attending ISU football games, and playing cribbage. Darrell was an avid fan of the Iowa State Cyclones and St Louis Cardinals.

A perfectionist, Darrell was known for keeping his lawn, car, fishing boat, and other possessions in impeccable condition. When his age finally kept him from blowing snow, he retired his 45-year-old John Deere snow-blower which was still in excellent working condition. Proof that “Nothing Runs Like a Deere” or proof of Darrell’s meticulous care and maintenance?

Darrell’s lifelong love of fishing deserves special mention. As young as 4-year-old, he would stand at the banks of the Raccoon River and toss in a line. Later in life, he would rise before dawn on weekends to fish farm ponds or drift in his boat on Big Creek or other lakes. Even bitter-cold Iowa winters didn’t stop him from his favorite pastime as he would sit for hours in an ice-fishing shed listening to an ISU basketball game on the radio while waiting for the fish to bite beneath the ice. Darrell also took occasional fishing trips with friends to Canada and Minnesota. With a charismatic personality and humble nature, Darrell was very social and he naturally found many good friends throughout his lifetime to join in his activities. After retirement, Darrell met daily for coffee at McDonalds with his beloved group of cronies until Covid sadly put an end to his attendance.

Kind, generous, and devoted to family and friends, Darrell lived a full and adventurous life.

He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Barbara; son, Randy (Karen) Porter; daughter, Pamela Porter (Lee Bissmeyer); his grandchildren, Jacob Porter, Nathan Porter, Claire Bissmeyer, and Audrey Bissmeyer; in-laws, Steve and Fran Ault; and several nieces and nephews.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Donald and Dorothy Porter; brothers, Carroll, Ron, and Randy Porter; and in-laws, Yoneko Porter and Vernon and Gerti Ault.