General Information
Full Name: Donna Mae Realander
Date of Birth: August 27, 1928
Date of Death: May 1, 2013
Donna’s life story
Donna Mae Realander
In a small town of Ivanhoe in southwestern Minnesota, Donna Mae was born on Monday, August 27, 1928, to parents Louis and Elizabeth (Stocker) Dorenkamper. She was the youngest of five children. Donna’s childhood years were spent growing up on the family farm, during the depression years. She recalled shocking grain by hand in the fields to dry, times as a family and the cold winters. She attended grade school and later graduated from Ivanhoe High School.
After graduating, Donna moved to Shakopee. She started working for Ma Bell and continued to do so for over 20 years. The rest of Donna’s life was spent being a dedicated wife and a loving mother and grandmother.
At the Spring Lake Pavilion, while dancing the night away, Donna met the love of her life, Kenneth Paul Realander. Courting for three years, they exchanged wedding vows on September 19, 1953 at All Saints Catholic Church in Des Moines, Iowa. In 1961, Donna and Ken were proud to announce the birth of their handsome and only child, Jeffrey.
In 1962, they built a home on Prior Lake, where they enjoyed family activities and created many fond memories together. As a family, they also enjoyed weekends at their cabin on Washburn Lake in Cass County. Donna truly treasured being in the north woods and spending countless hours fishing with family and friends.
In the earlier years, Donna loved tending to the vegetables in her garden and providing food for her family. In the later years, she always had knitting needles in her hands and creating slippers. Each Christmas, Donna was proud of giving family and close friends a new pair of slippers to get them through the next year. She also loved reading and playing various card games.
After Ken retired, Donna and he enjoyed traveling. They took many bus tours to Washington D.C., New York and Canada, to name a few destinations. Donna and Ken were fortunate to travel several times to Germany to visit relatives on his side. For their 50th Anniversary, Jeff gave them the most memorable and treasured vacation ever.. a trip to Guam. Donna’s greatest passion in life was providing for her family, as a wife, mother and
grandmother. She relished being a grandma and was so proud of each grandchild.
On August 3, 2011, Donna’s life was forever changed with the passing of her husband, Ken. They celebrated almost 58 years of marriage. A woman with a great sense of humor, Donna’s smile and joking around will be extremely missed. The early afternoon of Wednesday, May 1, 2013, Donna, age 84, entered eternal rest in heaven at Abbott-Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis. She was a life-long resident of Prior Lake.
Donna will be forever missed and truly loved by son, Jeffrey (Karen) Realander of California; grandsons, Brandon and Jonathon Realander; granddaughter, Megan Realander; many nieces and nephews and friends. She is preceded in death by her husband, Ken; 1 brother and 3 sisters.
Pall bearers will be Mavis Gruhlke, Kaleen Rybinski, Karen Lingen, Carla Stemmer, Cindy Pivec, and Brenda Berens.
The visitation will be on Monday, May 6 from 4-7 pm at Ballard-Sunder Funeral Home 4565 Pleasant Street SE, Prior Lake and also one hour prior to the mass at church. The Mass of Christian Burial will be on Tuesday, May 7 at 11 AM at the Church of St. Michael 16311 Duluth Avenue SE, Prior Lake. Father Tom Sieg will officiate. Donna will be laid to rest next to her husband at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis, MN.
The Realander family is served with honor, care and compassion by Ballard-Sunder Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Prior Lake Chapel.
Visitation
When: Monday, May 6, 4 till 7 PM
Location: Ballard-Sunder Funeral Home
Address: 4565 Pleasant St. SE
Prior Lake, MN 55372
There also will be visitation at the church 1 hour prior to services.
Service Information
When: Tuesday, May 7, 11:00 AM
Location: The Church of St. Michael
Address: 16311 Duluth Ave. SE
Prior Lake, MN 55372
Interment
Fort Snelling National Cemtery
Minneapolis, MN
