Donald Auger - Brookings

Feb. 4, 1953 - Jan. 7, 2021

Posted

Dr. Donald Leon Auger of Brookings, SD passed away at home on Jan. 7, 2021, at the age of 67 after a five-year battle with cancer.  No services are planned.
Don was born Feb. 4, 1953, to Edward and Cecile (Dansereau) Auger in Moorhead, Minnesota.   
He grew up in Dilworth, MN and attended St. John’s University in Collegeville, MN.  After working for the Social Security Administration in Bemidji, MN for more than ten years, he obtained his doctorate in 1995 from the University of North Dakota.
On Nov. 27, 1993 Don married Cynthia (Cindy) Ostlie in Crookston, MN.
From 1995-2003 Don was a postdoc at the University of Missouri in Columbia, MO and 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.  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.
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 Juliette, nephews Greg and Nick, and many cousins.  
A full obituary is available at eidsnessfuneralhome.com.