Mary Don Aafedt
March 4, 1934 ~ December 7, 2022
Born in:
Devils Lake, North Dakota
Resided in:
Fargo, North Dakota
Mary Don’s Live Streamed Funeral Service can be viewed below:
Mary Don was born March 4, 1934 to Myrtle (Gilberg) and Donald Baldwin in Devils Lake, ND. As a young girl, her family moved to Bozeman, MT where they operated a café and took many weekend trips to the beautiful Yellowstone National Park. Three years later, Mary Don went to live on the family farm in Mylo, ND with her grandparents, Julius and Mary Gilberg, where she attended the Union Township one room schoolhouse and played on the farm with her dog Sport. She later moved to Rolla, ND, where she went to high school and was involved in music and cheerleading. It was in Rolla where she met the new kid in town, Leroy Aafedt, who would later become her husband. Mary Don went on to college at Minot State and later transferred to Moorhead State where she studied business. Mary Don and LeRoy were married in Rolla on August 7, 1955.
LeRoy joined the military, which took the couple to Barstow AFB in Florida where they had their first child Jeffrey in 1958. From there they went to Texas and then to Duluth, MN in 1961 where they had their second child Tara and in 1963 their third child Roy.
In 1964, they moved to Fargo and Mary Don cared for her 3 children, worked as a secretary, and taught Sunday school at Messiah Lutheran Church. She also served as a delegate for the Republican Party. Mary Don loved to entertain and threw big dinner parties. People looked forward to her annual events.
In 1975, Mary Don was widowed when LeRoy was tragically lost in a plane accident. It was then that Mary Don started her successful real estate career. She started with Rust Real Estate where she gained her lifelong friends Barb Grande and Chris Knox. She earned and achieved many awards during her long career. She retired in 1998 from Coldwell Banker First Realty.
In her later years, Mary Don continued to enjoy entertaining but on a smaller scale. Becoming a grandma and then great grandma brought her great joy. She took up scrapbooking and documented all the things she enjoyed. In 2022, she published a book about her life, titled The Book of Many Colors.
Mary Don is survived by her sons, Jeff Aafedt of Arizona, Roy (Cindy) Aafedt of Valley City, her daughter Tara (Brian) Argall of Glyndon, her grandchildren, Ashley, Zachary, Makenzie, Ali, and Dylan, her great grandchildren, Khiara, Khaia, Sheyenne and Hemilio. Her friends and family will always remember her endless positivity, infinite love, roaring laugh, effortless style, giving nature, admirable perseverance, and that special sparkle in her eye. Her sense of humor and captivating stories will be dearly missed by us all.
Mary Don’s Video Tribute can be viewed below:
Services
Funeral Service - Thursday: December 22, 2022 2:00 pm
Boulger Funeral Home and Celebration of Life Center
123 10th Street
Fargo, North Dakota 58103
7012376441
www.boulgerfuneralhome.com
Burial:
Riverside Cemetery - Fargo
2102 5th St S
Fargo, North Dakota 58103
(701) 235-2671
https://www.fargoriverside.com/
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Syd Clark Choteau, MT
Love and miss you.
I’m so very sorry to hear of Mary Don’s passing. She dated my Uncle Jim Gailfus and was good friends with Anna Allison from Duluth. Anna dated my husband’s Uncle Howard Roseth from Duluth so we got to see her often. When the four of them were together it was never ending laughter! Such fond memories of Mary Don and her wonderful wardrobe, her loud laugh and her never-ending spunk! Loved visiting her at Waterford. RIP Mary Don. Love and Blessings from Ken and Kathi Roseth. 🌹🌹
So sorry Roy to hear of your Mom’s passing. Sending prayers of comfort and peace to you and your family. Brenda Bernstein Sather
Sorry to learn of Mary Don’s passing. Many memories of her from her time with my Uncle John Kodelka.
Mary Don was an inspiration and it was a pleasure getting to know her during her visits to our office. She will be missed and our thoughts and prayers are with her family.
Jeff, My sympathy to you on the loss of your Mom. It sounds like she had a great and long life. I hope you are enjoying the Arizona climate.
Spencer Hjelle
Life Support
I had the great honor of interview Mary Don for her book. We spent many months together and she had my rapt attention and my heart as she wove the story of her life. She was an amazing woman! Oh how she loved her grandparents and her Mom! Mary Don was such an independent spirit and madly in love with her great grandchildren.
Thank you Mary Don, for trusting me with your life story and for teaching me so much about life and living the best you can, whatever is thrown at you.
Deep peace to the family.
Paddy McLaughlin
I had the pleasure of working with Mary Don to create her memoirs in 2022. Although I live in the UK, Mary Don and I had a lot in common as I am from Duluth, Minnesota. Mary Don was such a pleasure to work with and I always enjoyed our conversations. Even after her book was completed we stayed in touch and had a lovely conversation the day before Thanksgiving. My mother passed away this past summer and she was so kind and supportive and would even just call me out of the blue to check on me. I will cherish the memories we made and so pleased we became friends. You will be missed Mary Don. Sending love to the family.
Roy,Tara and Jeff
We are very sorry to hear of your mothers
Mary Dons passing
She was a delightful human being and touched so many lives
We had the privilege of knowing her and your family members over the years
She was a dear friend to my late mother
God bless you during this time of grief
So many happy memories to cherish
Mary Don will be missed. I enjoyed working with her during her Real Estate career
So sorry for your loss
So sorry for your loss
Memories frim Rolla
Jeff, Tara, and Roy: I worked with your mother for many years at Coldwell Banker and can say with all sincerity that she was the life blood of the office. She was a classy, hard working professional that always seemed to be “UP”. I saw her this last summer and spoke with her for hours. We were telling old stories and laughed a lot. I’m sorry for your loss..she will be missed. I’m sorry I can not attend the service, I am out of town.
Being around Mary Don was always a pleasure. She lit up the room! I met her through John and the hunters long ago, and went on to being in an investment group with her…which was interesting, always. My deepest sympathy on your loss.
She will never be forgotten. My sincerest sympathies
Shauna Nelson
ProRehab
Arnie Kuhn
She was such a fabulous person, and a great great friend to my mother, Chris Knox. Justice minute heard of her death. All my love to her family. Von King.