Donald Lausen
d. April 22, 2021
Donald Lausen, age 91, of Hutchinson and formerly of Montevideo, Minnesota died Thursday, April 22, 2021, at the St. Cloud Veterans Health Care System.
A Graveside Service will be held Saturday, June 26, 2021, at 12:00 PM at Sunset Memorial Cemetery in Montevideo, MN.
Donald Keith Lausen was born on December 16, 1929, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the son of Edward and Bertha (Doyler) Lausen. He was baptized on December 4, 1931 at the Templeton, Iowa and was later confirmed in Nassau in 1941. Donald grew up going to five different schools in only eight years because his father was a farmer and each March they moved to where his father rented land to farm. He then began working when he was only 13 years old, earning $.50 a day farming. Donald volunteered to join the Army National Guard and was quickly activated and stationed at Camp Rucker in Daleville, AL where he was an artillery mechanic. He was honorably discharged on October 28, 1952. After his service in the United States Army, he attended trade school in Denver, Colorado where he learned the art of gunsmithing.
In 1961, Donald moved to Madison, Minnesota and he opened his business ‘Don’s Gun Shop.’ In 1974, Donald was united in marriage to Evelyn and they had a son, Lee. The couple settled in Montevideo and Don moved his gun shop there until he retired in 1992. It was that same year that Evelyn passed away.
On May 10, 1996, Donald married Celestine “Sally” Svoboda at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church and Don gained three more children thru this marriage. He was a proud grandfather and great grandfather.
Donald was devoted to volunteering, first and foremost was serving the Catholic church, helping with cleaning and any carpentry jobs that would come up. He was a founder of the Montevideo chapter of the “Let’s Go Fishing” program, which supports veterans, senior citizens and kids love of fishing. Don was a member of the American Legion, D.A.V., Rod and Fishing Club. He also volunteered at the community center and served on the Board of Directors.
Donald passed away at St. Cloud Veterans Health System on April 22, 2021 at the age of 91 years, 4 months and 6 days. He is survived by his son, Lee Lausen; step children, Diane (Gary) Siegfried of Redwood Falls, Cletus (Jan) Svoboda of Montevideo, Linus (Lisa) Svoboda of Hutchinson; grandchildren and great grandchildren; as well as other relatives and friends.
Donald was preceded in death by his parents, Edward and Bertha Lausen; first wife, Evelyn; second wife, Sally; siblings, Ronald, Delores, Beverly, Bernice, Vivian and Darlene.
A Graveside Service will be held Saturday, June 26, 2021, at 12:00 PM at Sunset Memorial Cemetery in Montevideo, MN.
Donald Keith Lausen was born on December 16, 1929, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the son of Edward and Bertha (Doyler) Lausen. He was baptized on December 4, 1931 at the Templeton, Iowa and was later confirmed in Nassau in 1941. Donald grew up going to five different schools in only eight years because his father was a farmer and each March they moved to where his father rented land to farm. He then began working when he was only 13 years old, earning $.50 a day farming. Donald volunteered to join the Army National Guard and was quickly activated and stationed at Camp Rucker in Daleville, AL where he was an artillery mechanic. He was honorably discharged on October 28, 1952. After his service in the United States Army, he attended trade school in Denver, Colorado where he learned the art of gunsmithing.
In 1961, Donald moved to Madison, Minnesota and he opened his business ‘Don’s Gun Shop.’ In 1974, Donald was united in marriage to Evelyn and they had a son, Lee. The couple settled in Montevideo and Don moved his gun shop there until he retired in 1992. It was that same year that Evelyn passed away.
On May 10, 1996, Donald married Celestine “Sally” Svoboda at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church and Don gained three more children thru this marriage. He was a proud grandfather and great grandfather.
Donald was devoted to volunteering, first and foremost was serving the Catholic church, helping with cleaning and any carpentry jobs that would come up. He was a founder of the Montevideo chapter of the “Let’s Go Fishing” program, which supports veterans, senior citizens and kids love of fishing. Don was a member of the American Legion, D.A.V., Rod and Fishing Club. He also volunteered at the community center and served on the Board of Directors.
Donald passed away at St. Cloud Veterans Health System on April 22, 2021 at the age of 91 years, 4 months and 6 days. He is survived by his son, Lee Lausen; step children, Diane (Gary) Siegfried of Redwood Falls, Cletus (Jan) Svoboda of Montevideo, Linus (Lisa) Svoboda of Hutchinson; grandchildren and great grandchildren; as well as other relatives and friends.
Donald was preceded in death by his parents, Edward and Bertha Lausen; first wife, Evelyn; second wife, Sally; siblings, Ronald, Delores, Beverly, Bernice, Vivian and Darlene.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Donald Lausen, please visit our flower store.