Bio for TOLSTEAD, Donald Marion (b.1917 d.2000), Mower Co., MN ========================================================================= USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material, AND permission is obtained from the contributor of the file. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor, OR the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. If you have found this file through a source other than the MNArchives Table Of Contents you can find other Minnesota related Archives at: http://www.usgwarchives.net/mn/mnfiles.htm Please note the county and type of file at the top of this page to find the submitter information or other files for this county. FileFormat by Terri--MNArchives Made available to The USGenWeb Archives by: Diane Rollins Submitted: February 2007 ========================================================================= DONALD MARION TOLSTEAD June 26, 1917-May 8, 2000 Donald Marion Tolstead was the first child of Harold and Lydia Tolstead. His family is of German and English ancestry. He was born on June 26, 1917 in Taopi, Minnesota. At the time of his birth his mother, Lydia was 20 years old and his father Harold, 22 years old. Donald's siblings include: -Blanche Tolstead Thompson b.07 November 1919 -Shirley Tolstead Meyer b. 02 June 1925 -Robert Tolstead b. 18 July 1930 -Marilyn Tolstead Smith b. 28 October 1931 Donald grew up in Taopi, a small town with a population at that time of 150 in Mower County, located in south central Minnesota. The town, which was named after an Indian chief still exists but has declined significantly in population. When the Tolstead family lived in Taopi, two major railroads intersected there. His father, Harold, was the station agent and telegrapher. He grew to adulthood with his nuclear family in Taopi where the Tolstead family lived in several homes. He spent time with the Stern family and the McClintocks (Harold's sister Frances, her husband George and their daughter Gwendolyn). He attended schools in Taopi and later attended high school in Adams, Minnesota. He enjoyed sports and played football during high school. He grew to adulthood during the depression and began working on a section gang for the Chicago Great Western Railroad. He said over the years "I was fortunate to have a job during the depression". Although he never graduated from high school, he was a history buff and enjoyed learning new things throughout his life including reading the dictionary to expand his vocabulary. Donald was about 5'10" in height and thin in his youth and young adult years. He had robust good health for most of his adult life. My mom has said he literally never missed a day's work in his long railroad career. He was a third generation, career railroader, following in his father Harold and Grandfather Lewis Tolstead's footsteps. They all retired from the railroad after long careers. Donald lived with his parents in Taopi before being drafted in the army air Corp in 1942 at the age of 25. He met Lucille Heffern at an outdoor movie that was being shown in Taopi. Lucille was six years younger than Donald. They dated for three years before marrying on November 18, 1942. Their wedding ceremony was held in his aunt Elsie Christgau's home with his sister Blanche and Elsie and her husband Art standing up for them. Rev. F.P.Schroeder of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church was the officiant. They lived in Miami Beach, Florida and New Jersey before Donald was sent overseas. He was stationed in France, Germany and England, serving in the Army Air Corp signal corps, 9th Air Force. He eventually reached the rank of Tech Sargaent. The picture of Donald talking on a phone was in The Austin Daily Herald with a brief news story, according to the story at the time he was a "wire chief for a carrier group at an airfield in Europe". He served in a support service role and returned to the United States on the Queen Mary in November of 1945. Dad used to tell stories about the ride back on the Queen Mary. Many of his friends and fellow soldiers were quite sea sick as there were rough seas on their journey home. Dad came to the conclusion he was the only one who wasn't sea sick due to his strict dietary routine of only consuming Coca Cola and Fig Newton's. Donald and Lucille lived in Evanston, Illinois briefly after the war before returning to Minnesota. They lived in Taopi, buying his parents home after Harold and Lydia moved to Racine. A short time later they relocated, moving to Spring Valley, Minnesota where Donald was a section foreman for the Chicago Great Western Rail Road. While they lived in Spring Valley, Thomas, their oldest child and son was born on November 8, 1947 at St. Olaf Hospital in Austin, Minnesota. Diane was born eight years later on May 11, 1955. Both children were delivered by Dr. Rosenthal, who later was Lucille and Donald's neighbor and friend after they retired and moved back to Austin in the late 1970's. In 1958 Donald was transferred by the Chicago Great Western to Hayfield Minnesota. The Tolstead family lived on acreage near Sargeant before moving into a home in Hayfield later that year. They lived in a story and a half frame house and attended the Presbyterian Church. Hayfield was a small village, about 18 miles from Austin, with a population of 800. Donald later changed jobs and became a Road Master. He was responsible for the operation and maintenance of his assigned territory which spanned from the twin cities to northern Iowa. The family moved to Stewartville, Minnesota in 1964. Stewartville is a small town located ten miles south of Rochester, Minnesota with a population of 2,000. Tom Tolstead graduated from High School in Stewartville and the family lived there until 1972, when they moved to Oelwein, Iowa. Diane graduated from High School in Oelwein in 1973. Donald was promoted to a new job as manager of railroad reclamation, with a recycling center which he helped establish and supervised in Council Bluffs, Iowa in 1975. Lucy and Don lived in Council Bluffs until shortly after Donald's retirement from the railroad in 1977. After retirement they moved to Austin, Minnesota and enjoyed being closer to many family members living in southeastern Minnesota. Donald enjoyed fishing, woodworking, woodcarving and music. Donald and Lucille also enjoyed traveling in the United States just prior to and following his retirement. He was a big fan of Johnny Carson and British comedies on public television, having a good sense of humor. He had coronary bypass surgery in 1982 and following this surgery had good health until the age of 81 when he had surgery to remove a tumor in his lung. At the age of 82 he had a heart attack and later that year was diagnosed with metastic adenocarcinoma of the lung. He lived at home in Austin with Lucille's tender care and assistance until moving into Friendship Haven's nursing home in Fort Dodge, Iowa in November of 1999. He died on May 8, 2000. The following tribute was written by Diane and read by his son-in-law Jeff Rollins at Donald's funeral held at the Chapel on The Hill at Friendship Haven on May 10th. Diane wrote the tribute so the people attending could know more about his life and what an important part of the family Donald was. A graveside service was held on May 11th, 2000 at the cemetery in Grand Meadow, Minnesota where his ashes are buried. DONALD M. TOLSTEAD JUNE 26, 1917-MAY 8, 2000 Our family would like you to join us in remembering our husband, father and grandfather, Donald Tolstead's, 82 years. We also celebrate his release from the pain of his battle with multiple health problems in recent years. He was a good and complex man. Words describing Dad are; loving son and brother, devoted husband, friend, thoughtful neighbor, soldier, conscientious worker and supervisor, strong father, and proud grandfather. Dad was a man of strong convictions, beliefs and values. Conservative to the core, he was never afraid to be politically incorrect, which often resulted in interesting dinnertime conversation in our home. He had a strong and spicy personality balanced with a great capacity for forgiveness. Two strong and loving parents shaped his character, as he grew up in Taopi, a small community in southern Minnesota. The Tolstead family stressed the importance of family relationships and a strong work ethic. Dad was the oldest child in his family, coming to adulthood during the depression years. His life was forever changed by his service in the Army signal corps during WWII, going from Taopi to England and France. He was a very patriotic American having great pride in this country and his military service. Dad was a loving and devoted husband forming a true partnership with his wife, Lucille. He thought mom was the most beautiful woman and the best wife. He was proud of her. They provided a wonderful example of what good marriages are about. Dad was a loving father. He could be a stern disciplinarian but had a great capacity for forgiveness. We always knew who was in charge in our home. Both mom and dad had a way of communicating their expectations without a lot of rules and words. He gave great advice and had a common sense way of putting things in perspective. Just after I signed for what at the time I thought was a large student loan he took me aside and said "Diane that amount you just borrowed would buy an inexpensive new car. The new car will get rusty and wear out and an education never will." As an adult I received random calls from Dad (he was not a big phone user) that were usually brief asking me how I was and telling me that he loved me. Dad loved watching little kids especially Jarred and Lindsay. He enjoyed his grandchildren and was proud of the fine people they have become. Dad took great pride in his work being a third generation railroader. He began working for the Chicago Great Western at the age of 16 and retired in 1978 after advancing from a section laborer to Road Master, later being in charge of a reclamation plant in Council Bluffs. He took great pride in engineering the smoothest railroad intersections in Rochester, Stewartville, and other communities that were a part of his large territory. Dad enjoyed many things a few which include; good food (having a high metabolism and marrying a wife who was and is a wonderful cook), traveling and history (we stopped at every historical marker wherever we traveled which irritated me as a teenager but now I appreciate this practice as an adult), bass fishing on the Root River (assuring his frightened young daughter tagging along that the cows were not bulls and wouldn't attack us), woodcarving, clock making (grandfather and wall clocks) reading (dictionaries, magazines, newspapers), walking (talking to neighbors and enjoying their pets), tinkering and inventing various helpful household devices (the Rube Goldberg of Austin). He enjoyed good music (which in his opinion was big band music and the music of the 40's only). He enjoyed new cars, and had an ongoing gag with his dad Harold about how powerful the engine was in Harry's Chevrolet. He called his last car, a 1991 black Taurus, "Black Beauty". Dad dealt with his recent health problems, hospitalizations and living in Tompkins Health Center with courage, grace, and good humor. These last months have been difficult, but also precious to us as a family. He made it easier for everyone by making the tough decisions with mom's support, and accepting help graciously when it was needed. And Dad: We'll miss you. You have made an indelible mark in the lives of your family and the many other people you have touched with your quiet kindness and goodness. We need to follow your example of independence, being true to yourself, and good sense of humor. We learned a lot from your example handling the adversity that comes with a cancer diagnosis with courage and grace. Our memories will sustain us as we face the future without your physical presence. We love you. Lucille, Tom, June, Jeff, Lindsay, Jarred and Diane. ========================================================================= Copyright Diane Rollins 2007. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm =========================================================================