By Lauren Lindstrom
The Blade
DELTA, Ohio — Donald C. “Ham” Eicher, who ran several Delta-area businesses, served 37 years as a volunteer firefighter, and was a frequent presence at community events as “Hambo” the clown, died Sunday at ProMedica Ebeid Hospice Residence, Sylvania. He was 89.
He had been on dialysis for eight years and recently moved into hospice care, said his wife, Phyllis Eicher.
For nearly four decades, he served with the Delta Community Fire Department, including seven years as rescue chief. It was a volunteer position, his wife said, one in which a couple of times a week, Mr. Eicher and fellow firefighters would be called away from their primary jobs to jump into action. His long-standing community service was largely informed by his faith, his wife said.
“He has always been a Christian,” she said. “He wanted to help people and serve people.”
Mr. Eicher owned or operated several businesses in the Delta area.
He built the Taystee Freeze in Delta in the 1950s and ran it for several years with help from his wife. He also was co-owner of the Family County Pride Market grocery store in Delta, as well as the Fayette County Pride Market in Fayette, Ohio.
Mr. Eicher paid a lot of attention to detail when running a business, down to making sure labels faced forward, his son, Douglas, said.
“He made sure that things were taken care of,” his son said.
While working for a grocery store before his time with Family County Pride Market, Mr. Eicher learned cake decorating, a skill he took with him to his own business and then continued on after he sold the store.
Into retirement, Mr. Eicher decorated several cakes a week for a variety of special occasions.
“He was always teaching you something,” his granddaughter, Katie Serna, said. “He was teaching my kids how to ride the lawn mower just a couple months ago.”
Her grandfather was “fun to be around all the time,” Ms. Serna said. “He was laughing and making jokes up until the very end.”
For decades, Mr. Eicher made people laugh by clowning, a hobby he picked up after taking a class with his daughter, Karen Arnos.
A frequent presence at birthday parties, church picnics, parades, and festivals, Mr. Eicher buzzed around in his little car and twisted balloons into the various animals, much to the delight of children in attendance.
That led to the creation of his stage name, “Hambo,” a twist on his longtime nickname that grew from reputation as a larger-than-life personality. Ms. Serna said she hopes someone continues his clowning tradition.
“I think we’re going to pass on the legacy to one of the grandkids,” she said.
Born June 7, 1927, to Edward and Flossie Eicher in Wauseon, Mr. Eicher was one of 11 children.
He met his future wife, then Phyllis Aumend, at a high school dance after he had returned from serving in the Marines, where he was stationed in China. They married Nov. 28, 1948.
Surviving are his wife, Phyllis; sons, Douglas and Bruce; daughter, Karen Arnos; brothers, Lowell, Joe, and Larry Eicher; sisters, Donna Johnson, Gertrude King, Peggy Warren, and Luella Markley; eight grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren.
Visitation is from 3 to 8 p.m. today at Barnes Funeral Chapel, Delta. His funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at First Church of God, Wauseon.
The family suggests tributes to the church or to the Open Door of Delta thrift store.
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