Donn Yatskis

I am not sure how many games of whist Mark and I played with Donn and Velma, but they are some of the best memories I have. It was always the men against we women and I will admit I was never the best player, but the fun we had. We also used to get together with other friends, including Dan and Diane, Terry Schwartz and Joanne and others. After Donn and Velma moved to Fargo and then Alexandria, the visits became less often but we still managed to see them a couple times a year, I remember having supper with Donn and Velma once and we got to talking about what we would like to do when we could retire. Donn and I thought having an RV and seeing the country would be fun but Mark and Velma were not in favor of that at all. After Mark passed, I would still visit but we had to find a new card game to play, so we tried clubs. It wasn’t quite the same but we still had a good time. I am really going to miss Donn he was a great friend.

Velma and family, you are in my thoughts and prayers. We were classmates ate JHS and those memories are still with me. Velma you always made me laugh, and Donn seemed so quiet and kind. May your memories fill your heart and help ease the pain.

Velma and family, my heart aches for all of you. Donn was such amazing guy - kind & so generous. We served on the parish council at St James Basilica several years ago with Fr. Bitz. Velma, I feel your pain and pray for you daily. Marlys & Dale are keeping you in their prayers also. Take care, God bless - hugs & love to you and your family.

How can a person condensed 70+ years of being best buds into a few words? I know I don’t know, but I’m going to try anyway; we knew each other before we could walk we played together before we could talk. We played guitars together before we could play when we were together it was a good day.

This past year I learned that Randy Moss was Dad's favorite era of Vikings football. Not the Purple People Eaters. You may think that's because the Randy Moss era was a period in Vikings football where they did win sometimes but also found wildly creative ways to break the hearts of their fans over and over, which was the theme of my dad’s Viking fandom. But it was actually because my Dad said that team was so fun to watch and he loved watching what Randy Moss could do on the football field. I learned that the Moss era was Dad's favorite era at a Vikings football game. I had been invited to bring a guest to a suite at the stadium so I called up my dad and asked if he wanted to go. It was one of the few times where Dad enthusiastically agreed to leave his home and insert himself into a crowd of tens of thousands of people. On the day of the game, we got to the suite, and I only knew a few people, and of course Dad only knew me. One of us talked for more than half of the game and the other one was mostly silent and watched the game. I’m sure everyone reading this thinks I was the one who talked for more than half the game. Wrong. It was my dad. The suite was full of rabid Vikings fans and they learned that my dad was a wealth of deep history and knowledge about the Vikings. So during their discussions, I learned that the Moss era was Dad's favorite Vikings era. And it's also why, while it is a family joke that "Dad didn't like people," that is entirely wrong. Dad loved people. He lived for people. Okay, maybe he didn't like to be around crowds of them. But he was interested in what people were thinking and he appreciated them. And people loved my dad. Everyone who encountered him was like the people in that suite — they liked talking to him, they wanted to hear what he had to say, and they loved to laugh with him.