It is with great sadness that the family of Dale Duane Pieper of Whitewater, Wisconsin announce his passing on October 23, 2025, at age 91. Dale was born in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin on August 3, 1934, to Fern & Melvin Pieper. He moved to Whitewater, WI with his family at age 9 and remained a lifelong resident. He graduated from Whitewater High School in 1953 and served as captain of the football team and Homecoming King during his senior year. While attending school, he began learning the trade of auto body repair from his father and built his first car, a roadster with a rumble seat.
After graduating high school, Dale started working at his father’s auto body shop, Fort Body in Whitewater. After his father retired, he took over management of the shop with his two younger brothers, Daryl & Jim. Dale was a perfectionist at his craft and was a truly exceptional automobile painter and refinisher. As a businessperson, he was as honest as he was hard-working, and refused to retire until he was in his late 70’s.
Dale married his high school sweetheart, Dorothy (Dotty) Saxe, in 1955. They had four daughters, Linda, Rosann, Connie, & Lori. When it came to caring for his family, he was unstoppable. No matter how arduous family life became, he never gave up on any of us. Dale worked as hard at home as he did at his job. Now that we are older, we recognize just how exceptional his visual-spatial skills were. The man could build or fix anything. Soon after turning 20, he single-handedly designed and built the family home where he & Dotty raised their girls.
Dale was very physically active & took his daughters snowmobiling, hiking, biking, and cross-country skiing. He loved the outdoors and wanted to share that love with his family. It is hard to believe he was crazy enough to take four girls & their friends camping all by himself every summer. Dale was an active member of the snowmobile club for many years and enjoyed taking family members for long motorcycle rides in the country.
He & Dotty instilled a love of animals in all their daughters, putting up with pet turtles, mice, guinea pigs, rabbits, cats, dogs & ponies. To the delight of his daughters & neighborhood kids, he taught their two ponies to pull a sled and wagon. Under the influence of two of his daughters, Dale later got hooked on horses, buying a horse of his own and riding with his youngest daughter in Kettle Moraine for many years. Even in his late 80’s, Dale could be seen walking his dog(s) around town and often walked his daughters’ dogs as well.
Those close to Dale knew he was a man of few words. But he was always there to listen and lend a helping hand. He adored his two granddaughters, Katie and Liz, and enjoyed giving them rides on his horse, babysitting, and chaperoning birthday parties when they were young. Even after his children and grandchildren became adults, his desire to be there for them never faded. Dale was so proud of becoming a great-grandfather to Katie’s daughter, Emma, and was looking forward to Liz having the first boy in the family.
Everything Dale did, he did for his family. He was our rock. We will miss seeing his smile, hearing his voice, & feeling his hand in ours. However, our souls will forever remain connected. We hope he is experiencing freedom and peace beyond anything he could have ever imagined on this earth.
Dale was preceded in death by his parents, his wife Dorothy, 4 siblings, Pat, Delmar, Daryl, & John, & his oldest daughter, Linda. He is survived by his sister, Ronette, brother, Jim, daughters, Rosann, Connie, & Lori, granddaughters, Katie and Liz, and great-granddaughter, Emma. A public memorial has not been planned at this time.
