Thursday, October 20, 2022 ~ 10:00 a.m.
St. Vitus Catholic Church ~ Touhy, Nebraska
Interment at St. Vitus Cemetery ~ Touhy, Nebraska
Wednesday, October 19, 2022
Visitation ~ 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Knights of Columbus Rosary ~ 7:00 p.m.
St. Vitus Catholic Church ~ Touhy, Nebraska
St. Vitus Catholic Church, Bishop Neumann High School or Alzheimer’s Association
Darrell Lee Walla, 67, of Valparaiso, NE, entered into eternal rest on Thursday, October 13, 2022 at Bryan East Medical Center in Lincoln, NE. He was born August 20, 1955 in Lincoln, NE to Ludvik and Loretta (Ohnoutka) Walla. Darrell attended the Nebraska School for the Blind and Visually Impaired from kindergarten until his Junior year in high school. He completed his high school education at Bishop Neumann High School in Wahoo, NE. where he graduated in 1973. Darrell attended the University of Lincoln and graduated with a degree in Education in Secondary High School in History, Political Science, Social Science, and Special Education. Darrell always valued education. He would take classes in the summer at UNL and received additional endorsements in Special Education for the Visually Impaired and Vocational Special Needs. On June 20, 1992, Darrell was united in marriage to Heather Bell at St. Vitus Catholic Church in Touhy, NE.
Through the years, Darrell taught at Aurora High School, Raymond Central High School, Bishop Neumann High School and Burke High School. His main role was teaching special education, but many times he would help fill in with activities when needed. Darrell loved teaching young people and he always was excited to spend time with his family. He loved baseball, westerns, history, Creighton Basketball and radio talk shows.
Darrell was a member of St. Vitus Catholic Church, Knights of Columbus Council #8625 and he was active in the Nebraska Federation for the Blind in Lincoln and later in Omaha, NE.
He is survived by his wife of 30 years, Heather Walla; daughter, Alexa Walla; siblings, Chris (Suzanne) Walla, Linda (Brian) Ohnoutka and Julie Walla; sister-in-law, Kris Walla; many other family members and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Ludvik and Loretta Walla; brother, Rick Walla.
Thoughts and prayers! Darrell was one of the good ones. Great memories with him and my parents. Blessings.
Darrell always amazed me. The was a great man. My sympathy to his family.
Carla Ernst Fetch
Darrell is a classmate..it was amazing to watch him get around our school of Neumann Catholic school, very smart…he was just a great classmate of 1973..rest in Peace🙏
Darrell was an inspiration. He never let his lack of sight get in the way of living a great life. I have nothing but great memories of him, he amazed me. Rest In Peace Darrell. My Sympathy to you Heather and Lexi as well as the rest of his family.
Thoughts and prayers for the family. Darrell was one of the best and the most kindness man you could ever meet.
Rest In Peace Darrell
Darrell is one of those incredible persons that took life wherever he was and made it better. I remember playing baseball with Darrell as little kids. He knew where the bases were—one was an old tree. He knew statistics on every major league team. And players. Later in college, the big Lincoln campus only became a problem for him when it snowplows cleared curbs and messed up his “routes.” 🙏 Our Prayers are joined with those who knew Darrell Walla.
So sorry to hear of Darrell’s passing. He was a great guy and good friend.
I was so sorry to hear about Daryl’s passing. As a fellow “Touhyite” he added so much to my understanding that we all have handicaps and strengths. His many strengths included tenacity, openess, and a “room lighting” smile. I consider myself lucky to have known him, because everytime I saw him, he made my day better. I have donated a memorial to Neumann in his name. My prayers and sympathy to all.
Darrell was an amazing man who instigated a lot of laughter and showed an amazing attitude to those around him while teaching in Aurora and being very active in our church. Driving lessons didn’t go very well (!) but he loved playing cards! He was quite an inspiration! Our sincere prayers and sympathy go out to your family.
There are people who grace this world and Darrell certainly was one. We were blessed to have known him. He was a wonderful person and a fine example to us all. May God bless you, his family, we will always remember him.
Had the best times at Aunt Birdy’s and Uncle Buds! Ellen and Mary Alice
I knew Darrell in college. We were good friends but I had not seen him in many years. We shared a love for politics and history and sports. And laughter. He could always make me laugh. Thank you for gracing my life, Darrell.
Heather, Alexa and family: we’re so sorry to hear about Derrell. Our thoughts and prayers are with you 🙏 ❤️.
I believe that God has already restored Darrell’s vision so that he no longer has to see through his mind’s eye. What amazed me most about Darrell was that matter how long since your last meeting all you had to do was say “Hi Darrell” and he recognized you. I hope when my time comes I can be a teammate of his on the eternal Touhy ball team. He will truly be missed by everyone.
We send our deepest sympathies to the family of Darrell Walla. Wayne had spoken very highly of him as he was amazed by what Darrell could do. May God comfort you and your family during this difficult time.
Lisa, Shawna, Alyssa and Nicki Walla
Heather and Alexa, was stunned to hear of the passing of Darrell. Amazing individual who I believe had an extremely positive impact on everybody he met and worked with. So many wonderful memories of the good times with Darrell. What a great sports fan and just so much fun to share time with. So glad our paths crossed. Please know you are in my thoughts and prayers. Peace!!
Darrell was quite a guy. While teaching at Aurora there were 4 or 5 of us guys that always ate lunch together. 1 of us would always move his dessert around on his tray. He always blamed me. One summer he decided to stay in Aurora and he would walk up town to a store. I was doing construction work and he was walking down the street to do some shopping, I pulled my vehicle across the sidewalk and when he hit his cane on my pickup, he would say what the heck is going on. I would tell him to quit scratching up my pickup. He would just laugh and say
darn you Holliday. We took him to Johnson Lake fishing and also to Elwood Lake. He loved to fish. I asked him if he had never tried skiing, and he said no, and I asked him if he would like to try. He said I wouldn’t mind it, so with my son’s help, we got him in a lifejacket and he tried to get up out of the water numerous times. He almost made it several times, but could not get his balance when he got up. It was worn out, so we got him in the boat to let him rest. He was one brave soul. Our family and every family that knew him loved him. Our prayers are with the family. We had a lot of fun times together. He will be truly missed by all.
Taught with Darrell in Aurora for quite a few years. Darrell was an amazing Man…I was constantly amazed by his classroom style, his sense of humor, and his rapport (and control I said classroom). Daryl and I shared an exchange teacher from Japan one semester…the two of them together were hilarious. His name was Satoshi Yamada…Darrell used to tease him about his name and liineage …Yamada..,’where’s your Fadda, your Madda…”and they’d laugh until they were crying. Daryl decided to buy the house he was renting, he asked if I would do his inspection. I will never forget trying to explain what I was looking at and what was wrong…it was hilarious!
I loved Darrell like a brother!