Dr. Donald Leon Auger of Brookings, SD passed away at home on January 7, 2021 at the age of 67 after a five-year battle with cancer.  No services are planned and a private scattering of ashes will be done at a later date.

Don was born February 4, 1953 to Edward and Cecile (Dansereau) Auger in Moorhead, Minnesota.   He grew up in Dilworth, MN and graduated from Dilworth High School in 1971.  He attended St. John's University in Collegeville, MN, graduating in 1975 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology.  He worked for US Customs at Pembina, ND and then for the Social Security Administration in Bemidji, Minnesota.

After more than 10 years with the Social Security Administration, Don decided to pursued his first love of science and biology and he received his Ph.D. in Biology in 1995 at the University of North Dakota under Dr. William Sheridan.  From 1995-2003 he was a postdoc at the University of Missouri under Dr. James Birchler.  In August 2003 he began his teaching and research career at South Dakota State University.  At the time of his death he was a professor in the Department of Biology and Microbiology. His area of research was maize genetics.  He was most happy in front of his class, in the cornfield, in a canoe, or on adventures with family and friends.

On November 27, 1993 Don married Cynthia (Cindy) Ostlie in Crookston, MN and they began their adventures together.

Don was preceded in death by his parents and his older brothers Thomas and John.  He is survived by his wife Cindy Ostlie of Brookings, his brother Charles (Mary) Auger of Bemidji, MN, nieces Katie, Annie and nephew Greg of Washington, nephew Nick of California, niece Juliette of Minnesota and many cousins.

Growing up in Dilworth, Minnesota, Don was fascinated by nature.  Together with his brother and friends, they formed the Physical and Biological Science Club and Don collected, catalogued and mounted scores of butterflies and moths and recorded sightings of birds in northwestern Minnesota.

While living in Bemidji, Don became an avid cross-country skier and a canoer.  He hiked the Chilkoot Pass in Alaska and canoed the Yukon River.  Don was active with Ski Patrol, Minnesota Mardi Gras and reenactments of the lives of French-Canadian Voyageurs.  He could always be counted on to burst into voyageur songs.  He taught community ed classes on Designing and Building Wood Strip Canoes, winter survival, and moths and butterflies.

In 1982, Don joined Toastmasters International and rose to the rank of Able Toastmaster.  He competed in many speech contests, both prepared and extemporaneous, winning at the club, area and district levels.   In 1986 he won first place in both the Humorous Speech Contest and Table Topics Contest, leading to a rule change that a person could only compete in one contest at a convention.  Together with a friend and fellow Toastmaster, he entertained audiences with an Ole and Sven routine.  It was through Toastmasters that he met his future wife Cindy.  A fellow Toastmaster commented that it was love that was meant to be when he found someone who was willing to shuck corn with him.

While at SDSU, Don was awarded the Edward Patrick Hogan Award for Teaching Excellence in 2013, the F. O. Butler Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2014, and the Fishback Honors College Teacher of the Year in 2017.

Prior to his passing, the Maize Genetics Cooperation (MGC) unanimously supported awarding Don with the R. Emerson Lifetime Achievement Award. This award recognizes individuals for their extraordinary lifetime achievements in maize genetics. Recipients of this award are leaders in the maize community who have made critical contributions to creating the next generation of maize geneticists and its community.  The award states:

"The MGC recognizes the Lifetime Achievement of Dr. Donald L. Auger. Dr. Auger received his Ph.D. from the University of North Dakota advised by Dr. William Sheridan and did his postdoc at the University of Missouri, Columbia with Dr. James Birchler. For the past two-decades, he has served as a Professor at South Dakota State University. Over his career, Dr. Auger has imparted his love of maize genetics to thousands of undergraduate and graduate students through his genetics courses and has been recognized numerous times at the university and national level for teaching and mentoring. As part of the maize community, Dr. Auger has contributed towards the understanding of perennialism in Zea diploperennis, the effect of gene dosage on heterosis and polyploidy, and of mutations that affect the gametophyte generation in maize. Moreover, Don is a beloved fixture at the Maize Meeting, having attended more than thirty meetings."

Don received excellent care from Avera Oncology in Sioux Falls and was able to beat the statistical odds to continue his teaching, research and adventures.  When traditional chemotherapy and radiation failed, Don enrolled in two clinical trials in Denver, both of which also failed.  His cancer spread from its original sites to his brain and to soft tissue and bones.  Even when physically unable to walk more than a few hundred feet, he sat at his kitchen table and delivered his lectures remotely completing the 2020 fall semester with an enthusiasm that came from his love of teaching and desire to see his students succeed.

In Cindy and Don's 2020 Christmas letter, Don added an addendum: "As you know my health is failing.  Take solace in that I am experiencing little pain and, more importantly, in that I have very little anxiety.  I do have regrets.  I will not canoe again.  No new adventures.  Especially with you who have enriched my life in so many ways.  Mostly, I am filled with gratitude for a good life, my adventures, and most of all, Cindy, my family and my treasured friends."

An endowed Don Auger Memorial Scholarship at SDSU is being established to honor Don's legacy.  Memorials can be made payable to SDSU Foundation in memory of Donald Auger or sent in care of Eidsness Funeral Home, 1617 Orchard Drive, Brookings, SD 57006.