Darlene Painter

Darlene M Painter, 81, of Brainerd, passed away unexpectedly April 4, 2022, at Banner Baywood Hospital in Mesa, AZ.

Darlene was born July 21, 1940, in Belgrade, MN, to Samuel and Mabel Jensen.  She graduated from Belgrade High School in 1958.  On October 28, 1961, she was united in marriage to Ralph Painter, and they had two children.  Darlene was a loyal 43-year employee of The Pillsbury Company, where she was coordinator of trade shows and the Bake-Off.  Ralph and Dar lived in the Minneapolis area until retirement, and moved to the lake full time in 2004.  In 2007, they bought a retirement home in Mesa, AZ, where they enjoyed their winter years.

Dar loved spending time with family and friends, and was generous with both her time and resources.  She enjoyed volunteering both at the Church, and The Senior Center, and organized several social events in her Mesa community.  In Minnesota, through the years, Darlene enjoyed camping, boating, snowmobiling, going to meat raffles, and spending time at the lake.  Her favorite pastimes in Mesa were Jeeping in the desert, happy hour with friends, going to the swap meet, and live music shows.  No matter where, Dar always loved a Scotch and water, knitting and doing puzzles, traveling, and visiting different casinos.  And she never met a garage sale she didn’t like!

Darlene is survived by her children, Brian (Marilyn) of Nisswa; Julie (Paul Mayer) of Glencoe; six grandchildren; several great-grands; two brothers and one sister; and many other family and friends.  She was preceded in death by her parents, husband Ralph, and brother Delmer.

Darlene’s Celebration of Life will be held Wednesday, June 15, at Lutheran Church of The Cross in Nisswa, MN.  Visitation is at 11, with service at noon, and a luncheon to follow.  The service will also be available via livestream. Memorials preferred to The Center in Brainerd.

Arrangements have been entrusted to the Brenny Family Funeral Chapel, Baxter.