Derald Oltman Nordbrock

Derald Oltman Nordbrock, a retired Air Force Major, passed away peacefully on Sunday, January 11, 2026 at the age of 96, in Tucson, Arizona, with family at his side.

Derald was born on December 16, 1929 in Gothenburg, Nebraska to Pearl Florence (Cross) and Tamme Oltman Nordbrock. Pearl and Tamme Nordbrock made a living growing corn and renting out their threshing machine to neighbors during harvest season. Unfortunately, the Dust Bowl with its 7 years of drought, as well as the advent of the combine harvester, led to debt and the seizure of their farm by the banks during the Depression. Derald’s father moved their entire farmhouse to the nearby town of Kearney, Nebraska, and began a house-relocating business for other farmers losing their land. Derald and his father took what work they could find: picking fruit, working on oil pipelines in Oklahoma and Texas, driving cabs, and helping build the Hoover Dam.

As a young man, Derald graduated from Kearney High School and then attended the Kearny State Teachers College. During the Korean war he enlisted as an officer for the Air Force, where he was trained as a pilot flying the B-26 Marauder. After the Korean War he was stationed at Davis Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona.  There he met Margaret Rose Callahan (Margie), a pretty University of Arizona student who worked at the Tucson Police Department. Derald was at the police station to resolve a speeding ticket he’d received, but fell in love, leading to a family joke that for his speeding ticket he received “a sentence of a lifetime.” Derald and Margie were married in 1956 and were soon transferred to Riverside, California, where they had children Nancy and Jim.

When tensions rose with the Soviet Union during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Derald volunteered for the Strategic Air Command stationed in Barksdale AFB, flying the B-52 Stratofortress. The family relocated to Bossier City, Louisiana, where Derald and Margie bought their first house. They had more children: Kathy, Bill and Terry. The family moved to Carswell Air Force Base near Fort Worth, Texas, in 1965. Derald flew over 100 missions during Vietnam, receiving numerous medals and honors including the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with 5 Oak Leaf Clusters.

Derald was stationed at Andersen AFB in Guam from 1971-1974. The family, often referred to as the “Norgies,” loved the island, with its beautiful spots such as Talofofo Falls, Marbo Cave, and Two Lovers’ Leap. Derald and his older son learned to scuba dive.  He was living in Guam when Japanese soldier Shoichi Yokoi was found in the jungle, after hiding out for 28 years.

After over 22 years of service, Derald retired in 1974, settling in Tucson, Arizona. An avid fisherman, Derald won many fishing contests and taught his children, grandchildren and family friends not only how to fish but also how to waterski.  He loved camping at Burnt Corral in Apache Lake, and taking long road trips in his converted 1940’s Ford milk van reworked into a camper affectionately known as the “DORF”.

Other hobbies included barbequing, and Derald was famous for his brisket.  He loved attending yard sales and refurbishing antiques. He loved playing horseshoes, ping pong, and gin rummy.  Derald and Margie received a Neighborhood Watch Award for years of dedicated service in their neighborhood, including the interruption of a road rage assault and stopping multiple burglary attempts.

Derald and Margie were caregivers for their own parents for 20 years.  When Margie suffered health problems they decided to relocate outside of Tucson and focus on easier living and travel. Derald volunteered for Catalina Helping Hands and Meals on Wheels.  They were living in a beautiful house but without a workshop, so they later moved to a home on Roller Coaster Road, which they had enjoyed cruising when they dated in the 1950s.

Derald is survived by his five children and his son-in-law Steve Miller, all of Tucson, Arizona.  He is also survived by four grandchildren: Caryn, Kelly (Derek), Henry, and Linus; and three great-grandchildren: Kaysen, Kylee and Miller.  He was preceded in death by wife Margaret Rose (Callahan), parents Pearl and Tamme, brothers Lyle and Jerome, grandfather Frank Rademacher and countless more ancestors.

The family wishes to thank the staff of the Arizona State Veterans Home, especially Anna, Yvonne, Sandi, Marion, Sam, Ashley, Tammi, Claire, Francis the tortoise, and the many others who helped Derald so much in his last year of life.

Derald will be laid to rest with his wife Margie in a private family ceremony with military honors at the Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Marana, Arizona.