David Vandesteeg

Dr. David E. Vandesteeg, age 89 of Sauk Centre, died Tuesday, May 29, 2012 at St. Michael's Nursing Home in Sauk Centre, Minnesota.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 2 at First United Church of Christ in Sauk Centre with Rev. Timothy Sutton officiating. Interment will follow in Greenwood Cemetery with military honors provided by the Sauk Centre United Veterans Honor Guard.

Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday at the Patton-Schad Funeral Home in Sauk Centre and from 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday at the church.

David Earl Vandesteeg was born May 18, 1923 in Sauk Centre, Minnesota to Gerald and Lucretia (Dewar) Vandesteeg, Sr. He was a 1941 graduate of Sauk Centre High School and then served in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II. He was stationed at the Naval Hospital in Charleston, South Carolina, where he met his wife, Emily, who was a secretary on the base. On January 18, 1947 he married Emily Chisolm Wilson at Grace Episcopal Church in Charleston. They moved to Chicago where he attended the University of Northern Illinois and received his degree in Optometry. In 1950 they moved to Sauk Centre where he served the community as an optometrist for many years, retiring in 1980. In 2006 he moved to Lakeshore Estates and since the fall of 2011 he had been a resident of St. Michael's Nursing Home.

David was a long-time member of First United Church of Christ in Sauk Centre and also served on the church board. He had served on the board of directors of First National Bank of Sauk Centre and the Minnesota Home School of Sauk Centre. He had been a member of the Sauk Centre Rotary Club, the Sauk Lake Improvement Committee, the Masonic Temple and Shrine.He had enjoyed golf, travel, playing cards, dancing and being with friends.

Survivors include two daughters, Debra (Craig) Johnson of Grey Eagle and Robin (Richard) Peterik of Vass, North Carolina; three grandchildren, Kimberley Peterik of Chicago, Illinois, Benjamin Johnson of Fridley and Karl Johnson of White Bear Lake; brother, Gerald (Vernette) Vandesteeg, Jr. of Sauk Centre.

He was preceded in death by his parents; and wife, Emily Vandesteeg on March 6, 2006; brothers, Robert and Clarence Vandesteeg. Casket bearers will be Craig, Benjamin and Karl Johnson, Kimberley Peterik, Rick Jennissen and Mike Gleysteen. Honorary bearers will be Vern Meyer, Marwin Brown, Dale Emmel, Glenna Walker, Carl "Red" and Lois Emblom and Gerald Vandesteeg, Jr.Memorials are preferred.