Darrell P. Gildemeister

Darrell P. Gildemeister, age 89, of Elk River, after a long illness April 17, 2025.

Born September 7, 1935 on the family farm in Brooten, MN. Darrell attended the same one-room country school as his parents during his younger years, graduating from Brooten High School in 1952 at the age of 16.

After high school, Darrell moved to Minneapolis and attended Dunwoody Institute graduating with an automobile mechanic degree. Darrell then enlisted in the Army and completed his service 1958-1960 at Fort Lewis, Washington. In 1960, Darrell moved back to Minneapolis where he met and married his wife of 59 years, Margaret Dorrian.

For the past 47 years, Darrell had resided in Elk River on a hobby farm where he loved gardening and planting all varieties of tomatoes and peppers. He also loved working on his 1950’s Farmall tractor and other equipment. He could fix anything and was an avid reader of history and mysteries. Darrell retired in 2000 from Remmele Engineering of Big Lake. He enjoyed joining classes at the health club and volunteering delivering Meals on Wheels and as an usher for his church on many Sundays.

Darrell was preceded in death by his parents George and Charlotte Gildemeister and brother-in-law Donald Voss. Survived by wife Margaret, daughters Laura, Valerie and Jennifer (Chad) Enstad, sister Grace Voss, brother-in-law Michael (Lynann) Dorrian and nieces, nephews and cousins.

Memorial service to be held 11:00 AM Saturday, June 7th with visitation at 10:00 AM at Elk River Lutheran Church, 729 Main St, Elk River MN 55330. Interment will be at Fort Snelling Cemetery June 26th, 10:30 AM.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the American Lung Association or the American Heart Association.

The memorial will be streamed and can be accessed by pressing the blue button below this obituary shortly before the time of the service.

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