Delbert Allen Allmendinger

Delbert Allen Allmendinger, age 83, of Minneapolis, passed away August 15, 2023 due to a massive stroke. Del touched many lives and leaves behind friends from all over the country. The funeral will be held on Monday, August 21, at 11 AM, with visitation beginning at 10 AM, at House of Prayer Lutheran Church, 7625 Chicago Ave S, Richfield. Del was an active member of the Southview SDA Church who are worshipping at this location. The service will be livestreamed. Del was born on December 20, 1939 in Fargo, North Dakota, the son of Elma and Otto Allmendinger. The family resided in the farming community of Dodge in central North Dakota, but moved frequently during Del's early life. Otto was a farm worker and worked with the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) in the early 1940s. As a result, Del spent the school year with his maternal grandmother, Barbara Seidel, while he attended rural schools in the area (which came equipped with the finest pot belly stove smack dab in the middle of the classroom!) Del's parents eventually occupied the "summer house" on the Seidel Farm - a single room home with no bedroom or bathroom. You can imagine that the sleeping arrangements were very interesting. The family moved from Dodge to Bismark, North Dakota around 1949, at which time Otto started his employment with the NP Railway. Del attended public school in Bismark, where he graduated in 1958 from Bismark High School. During this time, Del's parents were divorced, and Del lived with him mom. She managed an apartment building, as well as doing housework, ironing and cleaning for the well-to-do families in the are in order to support herself and Del. And she did a great job! During his senior year of high school, Del began an after-school job at IBM in hopes of saving up some money for college. Upon graduation, however, he was offered a full time job for a whopping $260 / month, which he accepted. College never became a reality for Del, but he never regretted it! Del continued to work at IBM in Bismark until Uncle Sam called him to join the army in 1963. He was sent to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas for medical training. After completing 6 months of basic and advanced training, he was sent to his permanent assignment at Fort Riley in Kansas- home of "The Big Red One" infantry division. Upon arriving at this assignment, the 1st sergeant asked if anyone could type, and Del's hand shot up. This led to him being the Company Clerk for his unit, a post which he kept until his release in May of 1965. This was the start of the uptick of the war in Vietnam, and over the years, Del expressed his gratitude that he did not have to go with his unit at the end of May 1965. While he was in the service, the IBM office in Bismark moved their operations to Fargo, so del reported to work there. This allowed Del the opportunity to rent his first apartment which was just about 6 blocks from work. After a year in Fargo, Del was presented an opportunity for career advancement in Minneapolis, and so his car was packed and Minneapolis became Del's new - and forever - home. In 1969, Del decided to go to a Seventh-Day Adventist World Youth Congress in Zurich, Switzerland. The trip included visits to Germany, Austria, England, France, and Italy. One of the most memorable nights of the trip was watching the first manned moon mission landing from the veranda of a hotel in Italy in July 1969. But another, even more significant, event of this trip was that Del met his future wife, Bonnie Clark, on this trip. While Bonnie was from Minneapolis as well, they had not gotten to know one another prior to the trip. Bonnie and Del were married in the Southview Seventh-Day Adventist church in July of 1971. They moved to a small home in Southwest Minneapolis, just about 12 blocks from their church. Both Del and Bonnie were active members of the church, Bonnie as an organist, and Del serving many elected functions. And while Bonnie and Del were divorced in 1979, time healed all wounds, and they remained wonderful friends throughout the years. Many friendships were developed in the church community, which Del was a part of for over 50 years! Del's career with IBM lasted for 33 years, most of which was spent in the area of Administration Management and event planning. The event planning brought him on some fun work assignments to LA, San Francisco, Disney World, Hawaii and Bermuda. While in Bermuda, he found himself hooked on mopeds, and purchased one upon his return. He had a blast tooling around South Minneapolis lakes with his shiny new Vespa scooter. When he said good-bye to the Vespa, Del could be found riding a bicycle on nice summer days. Many long-lasting friendships were also developed during his time at IBM, which continued after retirement with many semi-annual lunches with the IBM crew. Upon leaving IBM at age 52, Del knew he needed to do something to occupy his time. He took a 1 week picture framing course and set up a studio in his home. He did many framing projects for family and friends over the years. Del's other interest has always been clothing, and so when the Mall of America opened in 1992, Del knew he had to join the MOA team. Del interviewed with Bloomingdales, Nordstrom, and Macy's, ultimately deciding that Macy's was the best fit for him. Thinking it would be a 4 or 5 year stint, Del continued working at Macys in the men's tailored clothing department for the next 28 years! Other than work, Del always had a love of collecting. He has a metal car collection of about 150 vehicles, and got into collecting pottery after numerous trips to area art fairs and vacations in Arizona. Like his mother, Del absolutely loved the holidays, and he accumulated over 250 snowmen, as well as many Santas and other holiday figurines over the years as well. While Del had many hobbies and interests, in the summer time, you could always count on Del to have the most immaculate garden! He enjoyed his yard and flowers so much, and received 14 awards from the Twin Cities Metro Blooms program - including an award for Best Presented Garden in the Twin Cities. In later years, he even served as a volunteer in evaluating gardens in the Southwest Minneapolis area. During his years, Del made dozens...no, hundreds of amazing friends. He will be missed by so many!

Tributes

Delbert Allen Allmendinger

December 20, 1939 - August 15, 2023

Tributes

Delbert Allen Allmendinger

December 20, 1939 - August 15, 2023

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