• Donald H. Cassels, 78, of Owatonna, Minn., died Saturday, March 8, 2014 peacefully at his home.
• Donald was born August 18, 1935 in Groton, the son of Leon and Martha (Krueger) Cassels.  There he was raised and attended school graduating from Groton High School in 1953.  Donald then attended college in Brookings, for a short while.  On a return trip home from college, Don decided to volunteer for the draft because a lot of his friends had.  So at the age of 18 in February of 1954, Don entered the United States Army.  He trained at Ft. Riley, KS and also at Ft. Smith, AR.  In August of 1954, he went to Munich, Germany and later transferred to Bamberg, Germany in the 1^st Division.  Don received his honorable discharge December 20, 1955 and returned to South Dakota.

• Donald attended Northern State Teacher's College in Aberdeen, where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business.  He was united in marriage to Minerva "Minnie" Richardson on May 29, 1958 in Groton.  The couple lived in Prairie Village, KS where he worked at Federated Insurance as a claims adjuster.  They then moved to Sioux Falls where he worked with his aunt in her sporting goods store.  They returned to Owatonna and he went back to work for Federated Insurance as an underwriter and later as a Contract Bond Manager.  His career at Federated began in 1967 until his retirement in 1993. 
• Donald was blessed with great athletic talents growing up.  He was offered a minor league baseball contract with the Baltimore Orioles and also played quarterback in college.  He was an avid golfer and won the Owatonna City Open the same year his son Steve won.  He was a student of the financial markets and would read the business section of newspapers, always trying to learn more and educate himself further.   He also liked to hunt pheasant back on the family farm in South Dakota.
• He is survived by his wife Minerva "Minnie" Cassels of Owatonna; a daughter, Kathryn (and Rod) Borchert of Owatonna; two sons, Michael Cassels of Sioux Falls; Steve (and Sheryl) Cassels of Livermore, CA; four grandchildren, Dylan, Sierra, Shane Cassels and John Gillis; two step grandchildren, Jordan and Jacob Borchert; a great grandson, Nathan Gillis; a sister, Jane (and Loren) Buntrock of Naperville, IL; and two sisters-in-law, Donna Cassels of Faulkton; and Adeline Cassels of Aberdeen.
• He was preceded in death by his parents, a great grandson, Caden Cassels and two brothers, Gene and Gerald Cassels.
• Visitation will be at Michaelson Funeral Home on Monday, March 17, 2014 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.. Interment will be in the Forest Hill Cemetery in Owatonna. The funeral procession will leave from the funeral home on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m.  Military honors will be provided by the Steele County Military Funeral Unit.  Memorials are preferred to the American Legion or donor's choice.