Obituary of Donald Edwin Josephson

Donald Edwin Josephson, 89, died September 17, 2022, after a long and wonderful life filled with family, friends, and faith.

Donald was born October 20, 1932 to parents Edwin and Ida (Tieva) Josephson. He and his younger sister Doris were the only two children.  They had homes in the French Lake, Columbia Heights and Minneapolis MN areas, the family also had lake shore land and eventually a cabin on Lake Sylvia near Annandale MN to spend their summers.

He graduated from Minneapolis North High School in 1951 and married his high school sweetheart, Carol Joanne Peterson on October 25, 1952.  He would frequently walk from the Glenwood area to Carol’s house on Fremont Street to call on her at her parents’ (Ruth and Selmer) house. 

Donald was drafted into the US Army to serve in the Korean War.  Donald and Carol enjoyed a New Year’s Eve weekend in New York City before he shipped out.  He was trained in Light and Advance Infantry as well as Chemical Biological Radiological.  Corporal Josephson endured a 10-day voyage on a troop carrier with 5000 other young men, landing in Japan and then working his way to the Korean peninsula.  While in Korea, he served in the 45^th and 25^th Infantry Divisions.  The war ended in July 1953 and he left for the states the following September.  Donald, like many soldiers from that time, was very reluctant to share thoughts and stories about his time in Korea.  He did, however, have instant recall of his dog tag number 60 years later.  While Donald was in Korea, Carol spent her time in Peoria IL with her sister Gloria.

Donald attended Dunwoody Technical College and received a degree in Mechanical Drafting. He primarily worked for technical companies. He spent 30 years with Seagate (formerly Control Data) retiring in 1998. 

Donald and Carol had their first apartment near 25^th and Gerard, eventually buying their first home on McNair Dr in Robbinsdale; a block from Carol’s sister Joyce’s house.  Donald and Carol moved out to a suburban home in New Hope to raise their three children: Dayna, Adam and Brook.  Donald and Carol enjoyed 33 years of marriage before Carol’s passing in 1985.

Donald was blessed with two loves in his life, spending over 30 years with each.  Donald began spending time with Carlotta Siewert in 1991. They both attended House of Hope Lutheran Church in New Hope and both lost their spouses just days apart in 1985.  Donald and Carlotta started dating and eventually got engaged.  They made their homes on Lake Sylvia in Annandale MN in the summers and in Las Vegas NV in the winters.  Making Las Vegas their permanent home in 2014.

In recent years, Donald spent much of his time researching the family’s genealogy.  Last count, the family tree connections were potentially up to 30,000.  He tracked the ancestral home in Finland, to the island of Hailuoto (near Oulu), and the Junttila family farm.  He was an avid putzer of mechanical and electronic gadgets and any other thing that needed adjustment or fixing.  Don and Carlotta’s two rescue dogs, Blackie and Jack also kept them entertained.

Donald dreamed of visiting Finland. Plans to go in 2020 were delayed due to travel restrictions.  Don, Adam, Brook and Tyrone finally made the trek to Helsinki in early September of this year.  Dad’s primary goals when getting to Finland were taking a sauna and sampling Finnish cuisine like salmon, reindeer, viili (yogurt) and other offerings, most of which we could not pronounce.  We visited the Fortress of Suomenlinna, the ancient town of Tallinn Estonia, rural towns of Porvoo and Tampere Finland, as well as sights around Helsinki.  Don’s travels were aided by his new electric scooter which provided him mobility, but he was also hard to keep up with at times.  Don shared with all he encountered; be it in a restaurant, on the street or in the sauna, that he was 93% Finnish and the first family member in three generations to come back to the homeland.  Don started feeling poorly towards the end of the trip. Once we returned to the states, a trip to urgent care for a persistent cough turned into a trip to the ER for low oxygen levels and then hospitalization for COVID and pneumonia. His life journey ended about 10 days later when his body could no longer keep up.   

Donald is survived by Don and Carol’s children Dayna Belawski, Mound MN; Adam and Gwen Josephson, Stillwater MN; Brook and Tyrone Hollie, Coopersburg PA; eight grandchildren, Jaime (Aaron) Russ, Grant Belawski, Taylor Belawski, Aaron (Karin) Josephson, Joanna (Paul) Lovhaug, Brielle (Matt) Baker, Clay Hollie, Imani Hollie; five great grandchildren (Lauren, Sydney, Leif, Magnus, Zuri); Don’s sister, Doris Madsen, Finlayson, MN and by Don’s fiancé, Carlotta Siewert and her children Carol Siewert, Las Vegas NV; Scott (Angie) Siewert, Forest Lake MN and Carlotta’s many grandchildren and great grandchildren. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews.

Donald was preceded in death by his parents Edwin (1963) and Ida (1992); wife, Carol (1985); father-in-law, Selmer Peterson (1970), mother-in-law, Ruth Peterson (1987), sister-in-law, Joyce Koznick (1993), and brother-in-law, Don Madsen (2012).

A memorial service will be held at 11:00 am October 15, 2022 at Family of God Lutheran Church, 8625 Zane Ave, Brooklyn Park MN.  Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service. A light lunch will be served following the service to share memories and stories.  Inurnment will be at Crystal Lake Cemetery at 1:30 pm on the same day.  An online Memorial Service option is available at www.fogchurch.org then link to their facebook page.

In leu of flowers, please consider a donation to one of Don’s favorite charities, St Jude Children’s Hospital.