Donald Putney

Donald Putney, age 91, died on Sunday, March 7, 2021 at his home surrounded by his family. A memorial service will be held at 1:00 PM on Friday, March 12, 2021 at the Church of St. Philip. Visitation will be held one hour before the funeral and on Thursday, March 11, 2021 at the church from 4 to 7 PM. Interment will be held in Calvary Cemetery in Litchfield. Military honors will be by the Litchfield Military Honor Guard. Memorials are preferred to the Meeker County Veterans Council, the St. Cloud VA or the Church of St. Philip. The memorial service will be live-streamed starting at 1:00 PM on Friday March 12 and can be found on Don’s obituary page at johnsonhagglund.com. Donald Charles Putney was born on August 25, 1929 in Hutchinson, MN to Charles and Mary (McNellis) Putney. He grew up with 11 brothers and sisters, was baptized and confirmed in Hutchinson. Don was united in marriage to Darlene Manning on May 11, 1962 and was blessed with four daughters: Deborah, Dawn, Donna and Dayle — The Girls. They began their lives together in Biscay before moving to the Manning family farm near Greenleaf, then into Litchfield for 42 years. Don worked at Rockite Silo much of his life — from stacking blocks at 16 to managing the Litchfield plant, and retiring from Bremix. Concrete was in his blood. After he retired, he continued to drive truck for farmer friends and deliver fertilizer for Cargill. Don served in active duty in the Army during the Korean War and while he didn’t talk about it much, he sometimes mentioned the cold and reminisced with his 369 EASR Army buddies at annual Army reunions — one of his favorite things to do. Don was proud to serve his country and was a member of the VFW, American Legion, Knights of Columbus and St. Philip’s Church. Don was a loving husband and one of his biggest accomplishments was being a father, grandfather and great-grandfather. He could fix just about anything around the house and always offered to help, loved to travel especially if he could drive, and he truly loved doing yardwork and his Steiner. He was best known for his wonderful sense of humor and quick wit. Whether you knew him as Dad, Grandpa or Uncle Donnie, he loved his family above all and was happiest when spending time with them. Don is survived by his wife, Darlene of Litchfield, daughters; Deborah (Ken) Anderson of Darwin, Dawn Putney (Tom Campbell) of Fort Collins, CO, Donna Putney (Mike Geise) of Powell, WY and Dayle (Randy) Geurts of Kingston. He is also survived by 9 grandchildren; Amanda Midtling, Andy Midtling, Tanner Greenring, Ava Ringerud, Jessica McGraw, Justin McGraw, Chelsie Stenzel, and Frances and Maisy Geurts. 8 great grandchildren; Zach, Lucy and Maddie Midtling, Miles Greenring, Henry and Caroline McGraw, Kaylee and Camden Stenzel, sister Faye Preive, sister-in-law Rose Putney, and dozens of nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, brothers and sisters; Dorothy Stafne, Norman Putney, Elaine Alsleben, Robert Putney, Wally Putney, Wayne Putney, Roger Putney, Jack Putney, Russ Putney and Lucy Smykalski.