Donald Joe Ahrndt, October 6, 1954 • February 19, 2023

Donald Joe Ahrndt, 68, of Alexandria, Minnesota passed away February 19, 2023 at the VA Hospital in St. Cloud.

Interment will be May 26 at Fort Snelling.

Don was born in Swift County October 6, 1954 to Orin and Laurel (Wells) Ahrndt. He graduated from Benson High School in 1972.

June 30, 1972, he joined the Army at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana. He was then transferred to Fort Richardson, Alaska where he loved to salmon fish when time allowed. He was Honorably Discharged April 1980. Don worked as a Computer Programmer/System Analyst at various companies and after retirement, worked part time at Harbor Freight in Alexandria. He met his partner, Cathryn Fahey in 1987 and in 1990 was blessed by the birth of their son, Donald Joe Fahey-Ahrndt.    

Don loved spending time with his family, especially watching the grandkids. You would find him at the family cabin, fishing, riding the jet skis, spending time with his dog and sitting around the campfire. He enjoyed making gelato with his granddaughter, lefsa with his daughter-in-law and peanut brittle with his aunt. After retirement, he loved going to Bingo with his cabin friends and was always up for a trip to the casino. To Don, idle time was wasted time, so he always had a side project or two going on. If you needed anything, all you had to do was ask and he would figure something out.   

Don is preceded in death by his parents, grandparents, Ernest and Edna (Guse) Ahrndt and Amos and Mabel (Wentler) Wells, his aunts: Lorraine, Jerry, Virginia, Audrey and Sharon; his uncles: Richard, Swede, Butch, Dennis Ahrndt, Bud, Llewellyn, Pat, Larry, Rodger Wells and his nephew Trevor Ahrndt.

Don is survived by his partner, Cathy; his son DJ (Kayla) along with his grandchildren Kate and Theo of Maple Grove Minnesota; his brothers: Orin (Deb) of South Carolina, Wayne (Donna) of Kansas, Tim of South Carolina, Rodney of North Dakota and Jason of Glenwood, Minnesota;  his aunts: Barb Schluter, JoAnn Tucholke of Benson, Minnesota, Donna Ahrndt of Deephaven, Minnesota, Linda Ahrndt of Isanti, Minnesota, Lavonne Brosowski of Fergus Falls, Minnesota, and Judy Beguin of Iowa; his uncle David (Barbara) Ahrndt of Georgia, along with many cousins, nieces and nephews.