- Date Of Birth: August 3, 1947
- Date Of Death: October 12, 2022
- State: Minnesota
Donald Wyman Moderie passed away on Wednesday, October 12, 2022 due to a suspected heart attack, after several months of turbulent emergent health problems. Don will be sorely missed by his family and friends.
Don was born August 3, 1947 and was the oldest child to Joseph F Moderie and Elizabeth R (Beccari) Moderie. He had 13 siblings (9 brothers and 4 sisters) – Kenneth Moderie, Ronald Moderie, William Moderie, Betty Jo Baker, Daniel Moderie, Michael Moderie, Charles Moderie, Nicholas Moderie, Joseph Moderie, Marianne McCracken, John Moderie, Nancy Haniszewski, and Marchita Mays.
Don’s lineage lives on through his four children – Tim Moderie, Tina Krough, and Chris Moderie from his first marriage to Denise Dawson, and Jared Moderie from his second marriage to Jo Fenstermaker. Don also had three grandchildren – Shelby, Michael and Keegan, as well as a wealth of nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents, his brother William Moderie.
Don grew up and schooled in Missoula MT after which he served in the Armed Forces Army Division in his early adulthood. After his discharge, he worked at Daily Meats in Missoula for several years before starting his own business in hydraulic repair. He eventually continued in that line of work in Great Falls MT working for the MT DOT division. In 1990, he moved to Minnesota. While living in Eagan, he was employed by RDO Equipment, a John Deere affiliate in Burnsville. For a few years during that time, he also had a furniture/appliance delivery service for Sam’s Club.
Don retired in 2008 from RDO Equipment after many years of service, and since then he had been repairing vehicles and equipment for friends and family in his shop, and maintaining a side business in stump grinding.
Professional life aside, those who knew Don will remember him for his generosity and dedication to helping those around him, especially in his later life. He had a keen mind for fixing and fabricating things, and was one of the more talented mechanical minds the world has had the pleasure of knowing. He was a natural storyteller, and was often able to talk to anyone about anything. Those close to him also knew of his integrated love for the natural world, especially the sky blue-pinks of Montana sunsets.
Go in peace Don, may the Creator hold you gently in your new path, for you become an ancestor now. We are glad to have known you in this life, and you are finally released from your earthly burdens and pain. You will be sorely missed, but will always live on in our thoughts and memories. Be at rest and know that you are loved, and always will be.
