Donna Magedanz

Donna G. Magedanz, of Iowa City, IA, died on October 5, 2024, in Iowa City. She was 98 years old.

A time of gathering and fellowship will be held on Monday, October 14, 2024, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Mundwiler Funeral Home in Milbank, SD. A private family graveside service will be held at the Milbank City Cemetery.

Donna Gayle (Polzin) Magedanz was born on January 12, 1926, on the family farm near Marietta, MN, to Carl and Fenna (Jutting) Polzin. She was raised on farms in the Revillo, SD, area and attended elementary schools in Deuel County, SD, and Lac qui Parle, MN. She attended Marietta High School for two years and graduated from Revillo High School in 1943. 

During World War II, she worked at a defense plant in Watertown, SD, and then entered the Wartime Cadet Nurse Corps Program, with nurse’s training at Bartron Hospital in Watertown and the Mayo clinic in Rochester, MN. She graduated as a Registered Nurse in 1948 and served in various nursing fields throughout her working life. 

Donna was united in marriage with Charles H. Magedanz of Revillo on October 17, 1948, at Christ Episcopal Church in Milbank, SD. They were the parents of three children: Thomas, Nancy, and Joseph. They farmed in the Revillo area until 1960, when they moved to Aberdeen, SD, where Charles attended Northern State Teacher’s College, and Donna supported the family as a nurse until Charles’s graduation in 1963. The family moved to Yankton, SD, where Donna worked in nursing, including 20 years as the Head School Nurse with the Yankton Public School System. Donna retired in 1988.

Donna and Charles moved to Milbank in 1994. Donna was a long-time member of the Episcopal Church and served in several capacities in the churches in Yankton and Milbank. Donna enjoyed arts and crafts, gardening, traveling, baseball, and was a die-hard Chicago Cubs baseball fan. She was an accomplished and loved mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother.

Donna is survived by her children and their spouses: Tom and Lita Magedanz, Nancy and Scott Byram, and Joe and Stacy Magedanz; grandchildren: Mike Byram, Stephanie Magedanz Bartsch, Jon Byram, Charles Magedanz, Liz Byram, and Sarah Parker; and great-grandchildren: Natalie Magedanz, Emily Byram, and Cora Bartsch. 

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Charles; her sisters: Marguerite Gilbert and Shirley Engel; and her brothers: Claydon, Lyle, and Rodney Polzin.