Donald Arden Reutzel, 81, of Paynesville passed away at his home on Friday, May 16, 2025 surrounded by his loved ones.
A memorial service will be held at Paynesville Lutheran Church on Wednesday, May 21st at 11 am, with visitation from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 20th. There will also be a visitation an hour before service on May 21st.
Don was born February 17, 1944 in Armstrong, Iowa, the son of Otto & Claudia Reutzel.
At the age of 13 the family moved to Belgrade, MN. After graduating from Belgrade High School in 1963 he worked construction until he was drafted into the Army in May of 1965.
He returned from the Army in May of 1967. He married Maggie Norby on July 8, 1967. Due to the sudden passing of his dad, they made their home in Belgrade where he helped his mom farm until they moved to Paynesville in December of 1968. He again worked construction & at AMPI until he was hired by United Parcel Service in July of 1971. He took pride driving his UPS truck, never having an accident & being able to shovel himself out when getting stuck driving country roads delivering packages & sometimes repairing his own truck, whether it be a flat tire or engine problem. He was a skilled carpenter, mechanic, plumber & electrician capable of building & repairing many things & taught his boys the same. He had several hobbies including, hunting & trapping, boarding & training horses, riding & showing horses in horse shows, woodworking, building a dragster race car, going to car races & lastly purchasing a collector car which he had repaired & painted. He enjoyed driving it in parades & around town until he no longer was able to get in & out of it. His favorite coffee place was Hilltop Restaurant where he went every morning to drink coffee & shake dice with the guys.
Don & Maggie enjoyed some wonderful vacations but he was happiest when he could stay home & be surrounded by his three children & their spouses & his 9 grandchildren.
Donald, also known as Don & “Tiny” by his Belgrade & Paynesville friends, and “Shorty” by his Reutzel relatives, had a few confused by his many names.
He is survived by his wife Maggie, children, daughter Tami (Dean) Stanger, grandchildren Trey (special friend Miranda Douvier) , Allie (special friend Cole Hanson) & Gavin (fiancé Faith Anderson) Stanger, son Todd (Cristie) Reutzel, grandchildren, Lukas, Jonas & Nikolas Reutzel, son Travis (Cassie) Reutzel, grandchildren Reese, Reagan & Ryder Reutzel. He is also survived by his sister Denise (Chuck) Laage of Brooten & many nieces & nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Otto & Claudia Reutzel, sister Demaris, brother’s Claire, Myron & Darwin Reutzel.
Blessed be his memory.
Memorials are preferred to be made to Paynesville Lutheran Church & Centra Care Paynesville Hospice.
The family would like to thank his Pastor Paul Shumaker, family doctor Dr. Randy Zimmerman, & all other providers & nurses at Paynesville & St Cloud Centra Care who were all so caring & helpful to his many needs. Also a huge thank you to his Paynesville area Centra Care Hospice Team for the many services they so compassionately & graciously provided. We were so blessed.
A memorial service will be held at Paynesville Lutheran Church on Wednesday, May 21st at 11 am, with visitation from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 20th. There will also be a visitation an hour before service on May 21st.
Don was born February 17, 1944 in Armstrong, Iowa, the son of Otto & Claudia Reutzel.
At the age of 13 the family moved to Belgrade, MN. After graduating from Belgrade High School in 1963 he worked construction until he was drafted into the Army in May of 1965.
He returned from the Army in May of 1967. He married Maggie Norby on July 8, 1967. Due to the sudden passing of his dad, they made their home in Belgrade where he helped his mom farm until they moved to Paynesville in December of 1968. He again worked construction & at AMPI until he was hired by United Parcel Service in July of 1971. He took pride driving his UPS truck, never having an accident & being able to shovel himself out when getting stuck driving country roads delivering packages & sometimes repairing his own truck, whether it be a flat tire or engine problem. He was a skilled carpenter, mechanic, plumber & electrician capable of building & repairing many things & taught his boys the same. He had several hobbies including, hunting & trapping, boarding & training horses, riding & showing horses in horse shows, woodworking, building a dragster race car, going to car races & lastly purchasing a collector car which he had repaired & painted. He enjoyed driving it in parades & around town until he no longer was able to get in & out of it. His favorite coffee place was Hilltop Restaurant where he went every morning to drink coffee & shake dice with the guys.
Don & Maggie enjoyed some wonderful vacations but he was happiest when he could stay home & be surrounded by his three children & their spouses & his 9 grandchildren.
Donald, also known as Don & “Tiny” by his Belgrade & Paynesville friends, and “Shorty” by his Reutzel relatives, had a few confused by his many names.
He is survived by his wife Maggie, children, daughter Tami (Dean) Stanger, grandchildren Trey (special friend Miranda Douvier) , Allie (special friend Cole Hanson) & Gavin (fiancé Faith Anderson) Stanger, son Todd (Cristie) Reutzel, grandchildren, Lukas, Jonas & Nikolas Reutzel, son Travis (Cassie) Reutzel, grandchildren Reese, Reagan & Ryder Reutzel. He is also survived by his sister Denise (Chuck) Laage of Brooten & many nieces & nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Otto & Claudia Reutzel, sister Demaris, brother’s Claire, Myron & Darwin Reutzel.
Blessed be his memory.
Memorials are preferred to be made to Paynesville Lutheran Church & Centra Care Paynesville Hospice.
The family would like to thank his Pastor Paul Shumaker, family doctor Dr. Randy Zimmerman, & all other providers & nurses at Paynesville & St Cloud Centra Care who were all so caring & helpful to his many needs. Also a huge thank you to his Paynesville area Centra Care Hospice Team for the many services they so compassionately & graciously provided. We were so blessed.