A walk to remember
Published 10:57 am Monday, August 29, 2011

Walkers cross Dobbin's Creek in the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center during a walk to raise money Saturday in the name of Don Deines to go toward Alzheimer's research at the Mayo Clinic.
Bagpipes lead hike at Nature Center
With celebrities like University of Tennessee girls basketball coach Pat Summit and singer Glen Campbell making news with early-onset Alzheimer’s, people gathered to remember one of its stars Saturday: Don Deines.

Jim and Pam Lembke and Craig Mann of the Rochester/Caledonia Pipe Band lead walkers into the woods of the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center Saturday. The walk was a fundraiser in the name of Don Deines with money going toward Alzheimer's research at the Mayo Clinic.
“Don is our star. He and (his wife) Judy are the ones we know,” said Larry Dolphin, executive director of the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center.
About 102 people attended the bagpipe walk at the Nature Center 2 p.m. Saturday to remember Don, the Our Savior’s Lutheran Church pastor who died from complications to Alzheimer’s last year.
The walk raised just more than $700, and totals from Saturday night’s concert at the Paramount Theatre have not been tallied.
“It felt good to see all those people there in support of Don, in his memory as well as supporting Alzheimer’s research,” Dolphin said.
Participants followed two bagpipers and a snare drummer on a hike through the Nature Center. All money raised at the walk and at Doug Wood and the Wild Spirit Band’s Saturday performance at the Paramount Theatre went toward Alzheimer’s research at the Mayo Clinic.
“It’s just fantastic,” Judy Deines said. “It’s just so wonderful to have people gather to help research, because it’s such an important cause with more and more people getting (Alzheimer’s). And it’s one disease that can’t be reversed.”
The bagpipe walk was organized because Deines was of Scottish decent, and the Dolphins said he always showed up when bagpipes played at the Nature Center.
But the walk wasn’t just about Don. It was about all the people who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers, who also endure much hardship.
“It’s tough,” said Judy, who cared for her husband after his diagnosis. “It’s a tough one because it changes everyone. You slowly lose abilities not just to remember, but to say words and all of things that go with the brain.”
Larry’s wife, Nancy, said it was nice to see all the people remembering Don.
“He was a good friend,” she said.
Friends remembered Don as someone who was highly respected in the community.
“If you knew Don, he was always smiling,” Nancy said.
“He was just such a genuine, real person,” she added.
Along with being a well-known and well-liked figure of the community, Don was a beloved pastor at Our Savior’s and a Sunday school teacher to many children, including the Dolphin’s.
“His sermon’s were amazing,” Nancy said.
Larry said Don was someone who loved the outdoors, and even took trips with Larry and his children to the Boundary Waters.
“Don just wanted to make the world a better place,” Larry said.
While the day was emotional to some, Larry said it was really a day to remember.
“We’re going to celebrate today,” Larry said before the walk.