Darren Kluever

Darren Kluever, 56, of Nevada, Iowa, and formerly of Atlantic, died on Saturday, April 23, 2022, at Rolling Green Village in Nevada.

Darren James was born on April 15, 1966, in Ames, Iowa, the son of Gary Howard and Sherryl Ann (Knop) Kluever.  He grew up in Atlantic and was involved in many activities.  Darren was active in the youth group at Zion Lutheran Church Youth, where he was confirmed, 4-H showing sheep and FFA.  He was on the go non-stop and usually easy to spot because his loud voice tended to carry. As a kid he enjoyed fishing, golfing, swimming, even more so when he learned to dive, and was the pitcher on his little league baseball team.  The family looked forward to ABC family night, complete with Darren’s favorite sticky popcorn.  Darren was mischievous at times, an example being the time he set up a BB gun target directly in front of the sliding glass door—you can imagine the outcome of this, yes, a shattered window.  To Darren’s luck it was the side he could just pull the curtain over and mom and dad didn’t notice it for over a month.  When out and about you had to be careful as he always wanted to be where the fun was and where he could get the most attention; he was never shy to drift away from where he was supposed to be.  Darren had a need for speed whether it was a roller coaster, full throttle on his motorcycle or 3-wheeler, riding in his uncles shiny, fast cars or the wild rides he took with his siblings and great-grandpa Knop after church, “Pedal to the metal" he would say!  In watching TV and other family members interact he knew the role he needed to fill as the older brother, even though at times it wasn’t welcomed when he would begin grilling his siblings’ dates.  His memory was a steel trap, when he wanted it to be, from reciting and acting out on command every commercial on TV to knowing every NFL football team and all the players.  Darren played the Baritone in the high school band, graduating in the Class of 1987, from George High School in George, Iowa. 

All of the things he enjoyed as a kid he also did into adulthood.  He worked at the Sheltered Workshop Vocational Rehab and a few of his favorite jobs were sorting the pop cans, assembling muffler clamps, and he was the ultimate box break down man. While working there he saved his money which he would later use to fund his trips to see his beloved Nebraska Cornhuskers at their bowl game.  It seemed when he thought they may have a chance he was a little more motivated to get up for work; he definitely was not a morning person.  His love of the Nebraska Cornhuskers (not a family favorite since they are all Iowa State fans) started out of just wanting a team that was winning at the time he was looking for “his” team.  You would be hard pressed to find anything in his wardrobe that was wasn’t sporting the Nebraska logo or name. 

Darren loved to watch TV and would channel surf between gameshows like Wheel of Fortune and Family Feud, to old time shows like Happy Days, loving to imitate Fonzie or watching the Rocky movies countless times.  A few of his favorite hard rock hairbands were AC/DC and Def Leppard.  He was always up to date on the latest and greatest technology gadgets from his cell phone and blue tooth devices.  Darren looked forward to the many adventures he went on with family which    included trips to Hawaii, the Statue of Liberty in New York City, Disney World, Disney Land and fishing trips to Canada just to name a few. 

A few other things you might not know about Darren were that you better know that Peanut Butter (first) and Peanut M&Ms (second) were the only ones he liked and if you gave him another kind you were quick to learn what you should have got; Mountain Dew and Dr. Pepper were his pops of choice; if you threatened him he would remind you he knew Judo; he loved dogs; he was a prankster and loved to tell jokes like his dad; he made instant judgement on whether he liked you; when he smoked he made a big deal about “having his smokes;” and if a woman had blonde hair and was tan he would flirt with her like no tomorrow. 

Darren will be deeply missed by family and friends; he was a wonderful son, brother, uncle and cousin.  He is survived by his mother, Sherry (Knop) Kluever of Nevada, Iowa; sister, Lynne Kluever; and   brother, Christopher (Kim) Kluever; niece and nephews, Hailey (Ben) Valkema, Christian Kluever and Callan Kluever; great-nephew, Jaydon Valkema; and many cousins.

He is preceded in death by his dad, Dr. Gary “Doc” H. Kluever; grandparents, Bill and Ruth Knop and Howard and Marguerite    Kluever; aunt, Connie Kluever; and cousin, Andrew Knop. 

Funeral services will be held at 1:00 p.m., Saturday, May 7, 2022, at the Zion Lutheran Church in Atlantic, Iowa.  A viewing will be available at the church beginning at noon on Saturday. Burial will be at Atlantic Cemetery, followed by a time of visitation and refreshments in the church fellowship hall.

Memorials may be directed to the family for designation at a later date.

Roland Funeral Service is caring for Darren’s family and his arrangements.  Condolences may be left at www.rolandfuneralservice.com.