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Donald Henry Bresemann, 87

Donald Henry Bresemann, of Coeur d’Alene, passed away peacefully to be with his Lord on July 21, 2019.

Don was born Oct. 30, 1931, in Oak Park, Ill., to Rudolph and Laura (Schaefer) Bresemann. He was baptized and confirmed at Grace Lutheran Church and attended Grace Lutheran Parochial School and Oak Park High School. When Don was 7 years old his father contracted polio and was paralyzed — he was only able to breathe on his own — and he went to live in the VA hospital for the next 16 years. Don took on many responsibilities at a very early age and this shaped his life; he was a very reliable, hardworking and caring adult.

After high school, he worked for one year before he enlisted in the Navy. He joined in February of 1951 and served until February of 1955, primarily assigned to a Navy destroyer escort that was deployed to the Pacific. That fall, he enrolled at the University of Illinois and graduated in 1959 as an electrical engineer. IBM hired him right out of college, and he was assigned to work in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., to help design advanced computer systems. He also worked in Endicott, N.Y.; San Jose, Calif.; Palo Alto, Calif.; Boulder, Colo. and Tucson, Ariz. — a total of 32 years for IBM. He enjoyed his work very much and held a patent with IBM.

In 1962, while working in San Jose, he met Donna Wentzel, and they were married in 1963. They were blessed with four beautiful children: Cheryl, David, John and Julie. Don loved his wife, children, and 12 grandchildren very much, and was very attentive to their needs and activities as they grew up. He attended all the children’s extra-curricular activities, spent weekends at multiple soccer games, and during the summer, there were camping trips and several cross-country family vacations.

Don enjoyed camping, golfing, fishing, cribbage, dominoes and helping friends who needed help with their computers. He enjoyed teaching people about computers, answering their questions and working through any problems they were having. In addition, he helped install and maintain computers at Christ the King for years. He also held several church offices and volunteered at the hospital in Tucson.

Don is survived by his wife, Donna, of 56 years; children, Cheryl and Rory Stowell, David and Dea Bresemann, John Bresemann, and Julie and Dan Hamm; 12 wonderful grandchildren; one sister-in-law, Karen; and many nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his brother, Robert; sister, Elvina Peterson and brother, Richard.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, 2019, at Christ the King Lutheran Church, 1700 E. Pennsylvania Ave., Coeur d’Alene. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial gifts be donated to Camp Lutherhaven, 3258 W. Lutherhaven Road, Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814, www.Lutherhaven.com/give.

Arrangements are provided by Yates Funeral Home. Online registry and condolences may be found at www.yatesfuneralhomes.com.