Donald Andersen

Donald R. Andersen, age 65, of Pillager, died Friday evening at the scene of a motorcycle accident near Flensburg, MN. Mass of Christian Burial will be 12:00 PM Wednesday at St. Christopher?s Catholic Church in Nisswa with Father George Zeck officiating. Interment will be at 3:00 PM in Bridgeman Cemetery. Friends may call from 6:00 until 8:00 PM Tuesday at the Brenny Funeral Chapel in Baxter and also for one hour prior to Services at the Church on Wednesday.
Donald Robert Andersen was born on May 21, 1940, in Comfrey, MN, the son of Jess and Alice (Schlief) Andersen. He was called from this life Friday evening at St. Gabriel?s Hospital in Little Falls, attaining the age of 65 years, 1 month, and 11 days.

Donald grew up in Comfrey and graduated from high school there. After high school he enlisted in the Air Force Reserve. The evening before his wedding he was called to active duty and station at Ft. Snelling during the Berlin Airlift. On August 26, 1961 he was united in marriage to Margret Steenberg at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in St. Paul. To this union 3 children were born. Donald and Margret were able to share almost 44 years of marriage together, raising their family in Coon Rapids. He received his Bachelor?s Degree from Bethel College in 1997 as a returning adult student. During and after college he worked for Network Systems. Donald worked in the high tech computer industry for several different companies including Network Systems, Honeywell, Medtronics, and Plasmon. He retired in 2001 and the couple moved to the family farm near Pillager. Among the things he enjoyed were riding his Harley, flying, he had both his commercial pilot and instructor?s license, fishing, hunting, playing his concertina, and John Deere machinery. He was a member of St. Christopher?s Catholic Church, the Blaine/Coon Rapids Knights of Columbus, H.O.G. (Harley Owners Group) and North Country Thunder.

He was preceded in death by his father, Jess. Donald is mourned in passing by his wife, Margret of Pillager; children, Robert (Kristin) Andersen of Pillager, James (Pamela) Andersen of St. Paul, and Karen (Darryl Cuddy) Andersen of St. Paul; grandson, Nickolas Andersen, of Pillager; mother, Alice of Neligh, NE; and 2 sisters, Janet Countryman of Minneapolis and Lynn Scholl of Elgin, NE.