Donna Mae Kathleen Lunde, 84, of Bloomington, loving wife, mother, grandma and nurse passed away at Friendship Village on the afternoon of Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2011.

Donna Mae was born on Sept. 20, 1926, to Florence Henrietta Klose Larson and Christian Theodore Larson, an immigrant of Denmark in Naeve Hospital in Albert Lea.

The youngest of two daughters, Donna Mae graduated from Albert Lea High School in 1944. Following her lifelong dream, she attended Naeve Hospital School of Nursing and graduated at the top of her class as a registered nurse in 1948. The following September she married the love of her life, Lowell Jacob Lunde, of Hayward, in the Little Brown Church in Nashua, Iowa. Longing to see the ocean and mountains, Lowell took Donna on an unforgettable month-long honeymoon out West.

The first 10 years of their marriage were spent on the Lunde dairy farm in Hayward. There, they were blessed with three of their five children: Russell Allan, Carl Kristian and Lowell Bryan. Upon Donna’s diagnosis of a brain aneurism in Lowell in 1959, and after a successful operation, the two moved their family to Bloomington where they happily lived and raised their family with the blessed addition of two daughters: Karin Annette and Kathryn Ann.

Donna Mae was an avid cook and excellent baker, a devout Lutheran and fierce advocate of her children and husband. She took great pride in her family and their education. Donna Mae practiced nursing until her retirement in 1985, but continued as a loving caregiver until the day she died. Open-minded and generous, she was a passionate consumer of the news and an excellent and witty storyteller. She had bright blue eyes and thick, wavy white hair.

Donna Mae was preceded in death by her parents and her sister, Lorraine Willman.

She is survived by husband, Lowell Jacob; children: Russell (Lai La), Kris (Jan), Bryan (Nobuko), Karin (Kevin) Batchelder and Kate (Craig) Tollefson; 11 grandchildren: Carissa (Tyler) Rue, Bryce (Allison) Lunde, Briana (Patrick) Schiebout, Christine, Robert, Phillip and James Lunde, Kyle and Timothy Batchelder and Evan and Reese Tollefson; and four great-grandchildren: Hailey, Kira, Brayden and Elliot.

The family would like to thank the dedicated staff at Methodist Hospital, Park Nicollet Clinic of Bloomington, Masonic Home and Friendship Village.

Visitation was from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 21, 2011, at Christ the King Lutheran Church, 8600 Freemont Ave. So., Bloomington. Followed by a funeral service at 3 p.m. Private burial will be held today at Fort Snelling National Cemetery. Memorial preferred for the benefit of Christ The King Lutheran Church.