Donald Otto Linder

Mankato Mortuary 1001 N. Riverfront Drive Mankato, Minnesota 56001 507-388-2202 Donald Otto Linder was born on February 11, 1926 in Minneapolis, the second of two sons born to Harry and Irene (Peterson) Linder. The Linder family moved to Willmar in 1940, where Donald graduated from Willmar High School in 1943. He enlisted in the Navy at the age of 17. Under the Navy's V12 program, Donald attended a Naval Officer training program at St. Mary's College for one year before continuing his education at Iowa State, where he graduated with a B.S. degree in electrical engineering in 1946 at the age of 20. After graduation, he served as a commissioned officer at the Navy Shipyards in Philadelphia before entering the Naval Reserve. Returning to Minnesota, Donald worked in various capacities at radio stations owned by his family in Willmar and other west central Minnesota towns. In January 1950, he married Margaret Backlund in Ebeneezer Lutheran Church in Kandiyohi, and moved to Mankato to assume the job of general manager of the newly licensed radio station KTOE. Over time, additional radio stations took the air in southern Minnesota and Iowa, including KDOG-FM in Mankato in 1985, part of the Minnesota Valley Broadcasting group. Donald was majority owner of the MVB group for many years. He was elected as a charter member of the Minnesota Museum of Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2001. As a station owner, Donald always took pride in choosing announcers and other employees who were active in the local community and passionate about their work. Donald also served as vice president and as a director of Minnesota Electric Supply Company, an electrical wholesaler with headquarters in Willmar and branches in several Minnesota cities, until its sale in 2006. In 1961, spurred by his love of travel, Donald opened the Travel Center, a full-service travel agency which continues to operate in downtown Mankato with many of his beloved long-time employees. Donald traveled extensively in Asia, South America, and Australia, and made over forty trips to Europe by air and by sea. Donald Linder has long been active in the Mankato community. In 1952, Donald served on a committee to organize Mankato's centennial celebration. (He was the last surviving member of that committee.) He has been a longtime member of Grace Lutheran Church and the Kiwanis Club, as well a past member of the Elks, the Masons, and the Mankato Golf Club. He has been an enthusiastic donor to Minnesota State University, served on the Boy Scout Council, and on the board of directors of the American State Bank in Mankato, the Salvation Army, and the Mankato Chamber of Commerce. In 2007, he was inducted into the Mankato Area Chamber of Commerce Hall of Fame. Donald Linder took pleasure in his friends and family, loved playing tennis into his early 80s, and enjoyed international travel, history, and political discussion. Donald was preceded in death by his parents, his wife Margaret (who died in 2008), his brother Willard, and his son Jeffrey. He is survived by his four sons, Douglas of Overland Park, Kansas (Cheryl), John of Mankato (Molly Smith), Bruce of Edina (Irina), and Thomas of Mound (Jenny). He is also survived by eleven grandchildren (Ann and Kari of Overland Park; David of Miami; Bjorn of Mankato; Kirsten of Fort Collins, Colorado; Peter, Leo and Maria of Edina; and Katie, Kristina, and Jack of Mound) and one great-grandchild (Harry of Miami). Services will be held on Saturday March 21 at 2:00 (visitation at 1:00) at Grace Lutheran Church in Mankato. Memorials may be given to Grace Lutheran Church or to a charity of the donor's choosing.