Donald L. Deye was born in St. Paul, Minnesota on September 4, 1950 and passed away peacefully at home in Grantsburg, Wisconsin, on July 18, 2024. He spent his final moments listening to Gabriel Faure’s Requiem and watching the sun rise over his favorite lake.

Don spent his early years in St. Paul but moved to Winona, Minnesota, with his family, where he graduated from Winona High School in 1968. He attended Valparaiso University, graduated in 1972, and was accepted as a member of the charter class at Mayo Medical School, graduating in 1976. After a 3-year internal medicine residency at Mayo, Don moved to Cambridge, Minnesota, where he started his 45-year career as an internal medicine physician at the Cambridge Clinic.

In the early 1980s, Don also leveraged a passion for broadcasting into a 43-year tenure as Medical Director at Oakstone Medical Publishing, providing continuing medical education. He was best known for developing a successful audio companion series for the American College of Physicians, serving as the voice of that series in yearly recording sessions. His colleagues remember his leadership, keen insight and enduring sense of humor, all of which made the audio companion series popular, a success it enjoys to this day.

Don’s other passion was singing. He sang baritone for the East Central MN Chorale and in the choir at Immaculate Conception Church. In his remaining spare time, Don enjoyed reading, biking, gardening and his pinball machines. Finally, he enjoyed spending time at home on Big Wood Lake in Grantsburg, Wisconsin, with his beloved wife, Lindy, by his side.

In sum, Don was a good man, a kind man, generous of spirit and always ready with a joke that could make the listener laugh or groan, usually both. He greeted everyone with a ready smile, and he made everyone feel as though they were important.

He is survived by his loving wife of sixteen years, Lindy, children from his first marriage Charles (Trisha) Deye, Jennifer (Blake) Freking, and Cinthia (Matt) Elkins, stepchildren Jill (Brandon) Larson-Vito, Lindsey (Corey) Keen, Dave (Molly) Larson, James (Angela) Larson, and Edward Larson, and twelve amazing grandchildren.

Any donations can be directed to the family to support Don’s passion for the East Central MN Chorale and the music program at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church.

A visitation will take place on Thursday, July 25, 2024, at Swedberg-Taylor Funeral Home in Grantsburg, WI, from 4:00-7:00 PM. Funeral mass will take place on Friday, July 26, 2024, at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Grantsburg, WI at 11:00 AM with a luncheon following at T-Dawgs Bar and Grill.

Last Update: Jul 22, 2024 1:08 pm CDT