Don was born September 24, 1928 on a farm north of Elysian, Minnesota. When he was about five years of age, the family moved to Janesville, Minnesota. Don had one brother and four sisters (one sister was his twin).

Don’s life changed one morning in July of 1942 as his mother died unexpectedly during the night from a massive heart attack. The children were seperated – each going to live with a relative. Don came to Waseca to live with an aunt and her husband, who farmed just west of Waseca.

In 1946, Don joined the U.S. Navy and was stationed in San Diego. His ship, the U.S. Antietam, made the “goodwill tour” following World War II, stopping at such ports as Hawaii, Australia, Japan, Singapore, etc. Don was discharged in July of 1948 and he returned to Waseca where he was employed at various jobs.

Don married Esther Clayton and they were the parents of nine children: Douglas R., Gary D., Rebecca, Scott D., Bradley M., Todd W., Margaret, Barry J., and Barbara.

In March of 1952, Don was interviewed by the City Council for a position with the Waseca Police force. He was employed by the City for nearly a year when Sheriff Happy Lowe and his deputy Harvey Domy announced that they were retiring. Don applied for the job as deputy and Stanley Bailey, a Janesville policeman, applied for sheriff – and both were accepted by the County Commissioners. The two worked together until 1966, when Stan decided to retire.

Don filed for sheriff in 1966 and was elected. He took office on January 1, 1967 as Sheriff of Waseca County – a position he held until September of 1976, having been re-elected in 1970 and again in 1974.

In 1963, Don was named Waseca’s Outstanding Young Man because of his work with the youth. The Waseca Herald on March 8, 1963, reporting on this award, said “apparently believing that the prevention of delinquency is better than curing it, the deputy sheriff is active in the affairs of the Teen Canteen which he heads and serves as Cubmaster. He is a member of the Waseca Fire Department, K.C.s, and the VFW.”

The Mankato Free Press ran a similar story on March 8 with an article entitled “He Got His Experience at Home”. “Don Eustice has had ample opportunity to gain experience working with youth as he has seven children of his own”. (Two more children were born later.)

Don became a Rotarian in September 1963. In 1973 he became president of the organization.

In the fall of 1967, Don became the first president of the Bluejay Booster Club – a club he helped organize. And, Don was the chairman of the Sleigh and Cutter Festival in 1969.

In 1968, Don became president of the Boys Ranch in Austin. The “Eustice Center” (a school and gym at the ranch) was named in recognition of his efforts to make the program of rehabilitation for youths a success before they got into more serious trouble.

Don accepted the Governors Safety Award from Gov. LeVander in 1970 for “Meritous Achievement in recognition of outstanding accident prevention performance in traffic safety law enforcement.” It was also in 1970 that Don organized a sheriff’s posse and sometime later, a snowmobile posse.

The Waseca Journal ran an article in 1971 that said “Don instigated a drug emphasis week in the area schools. The program received more favorable support than any program of its kind in the area. A team of three former drug addicts met with the students in New Richland, Janesville, Waldorf, Southern School of Agriculture as well as the Waseca Central students. The main speaker was William Cahn, District Attorney of Nassau County, NY, who also had a program in the evening for adults.”

Don belonged to the Southern Peace and Police Officers Association – often hosting the meetings. He was a member of the Minnesota Sheriff’s Association, holding many offices in the organization as well as being elected as President in 1973, a position he held for a couple of years. As president of the sheriffs, Don expressed his hopes to be able to set up a program of in-service training and continued education for all sheriffs and deputies in Minnesota that would then establish them as the best trained, best educated sheriffs.

The Invitational Wrestling Tournament started in December 1974 with Don being instrumental in promoting it. Following Don’s death, the name of the tourney was changed to the Don Eustice Memorial Wrestling Tournament. The tournament was discontinued in 2006.

Sheriff Pat Smith Sr. of LeSueur County and Don started a boy’s group home here in Waseca 1975 to serve both counties for wayward boys. The grant that helped to get the Waseca-LeSueur Boys Group Home established was applied for by Don. The home was located on the corner of 3rd Street and 2nd Avenue NE.

Besides the organization listed above, Don was a member of the Sportsman Club in Janesville, Eagles organization, worked on Region 9 Criminal Justice Advisory Committee, worked with the schools to have a Home-School counselor, applied for grants to bring in drug agents for the quad counties, and started the Operation Identification for Waseca County. It was through Don’s efforts working with Senator Hubert Humphrey that Waseca County was able to receive their first police radios. When Waseca County needed an ambulance service, Don found a competent person to fulfill the job. Many Waseca County youngsters were aboard the school buses that took them to the Minnesota Twins Knot-Hole baseball games (with soda pop and snacks available during the game), all arranged by Don. Teenagers were entertained most every Saturday night (and every night during the county fair) with Teen Canteen dances held in a building at the fairgrounds. The bands were booked by Don and chaperoned by Don and his friends. Throughout Don’s adult life, he was known by many for his support and guidance. He was a mentor, an advisor, a sounding board, and he had an “Irish” sense of humor. He gave generously of his time, his home was always open for those seeking shelter, and helped those in need with limited financial support. Because of his involvement in so many areas, Don was often asked to be a guest speaker at church functions, women’s groups, civic organizations and at schools throughout the county.

On September 4th, 1976, Don went with a deputy to serve a commitment paper on a mentally-ill man in rural Waseca County. The man had known Don for a long time – in fact, he had brought garden produce to the jail the previous week. When Don and the deputy arrived at the farmhouse, they called to this man to come outside – he opened the door, raised up his shotgun and shot Don in the chest.

Bill Patton, the Waseca County Attorney, wrote “This is about the death of my friend, Don Eustice. He felt every man could be his friend and by his own actions in the face of all kinds of opposition I have seen him quiet a drunk, quell a fighter, soothe a distraught individual, almost always by making friends with him. This time Don knew he could help his friend and he went forth without question. But this last time it didn’t work. Don literally laid down his life upon his cardinal belief that every man could and would be his friend – it was nothing foolhardy – it had always worked – except this time.”

DONALD D. EUSTICE
by William B. Patton, former Waseca County Attorney

I always considered Don Eustice
My close and personal friend
I thought he considered me his close and personal friend.
He made me feel I was special and his best friend.

Now with the passing of years I realize
There were five or six hundred (at least) others
Who had the same conviction!

And the wonderful thing of it all –
We were, each one, correct in that assumption!

Don had a most wonderful gift for friendship
Friendship extended and reciprocated.

He made a friend out of most of the bums he had to arrest –
He made a friend out of the bewildered juvenile in trouble –

BUT

Before they became his friend and he theirs –
He was a terror to the law breaker –
He was a demanding and understanding boss –
His intelligence in his field was the best of any –
And he certainly kept me on my toes!

He made a friend of each, regardless of
Their station in life,
Their age,
Their sex,
Their religion (or lack of it)
Their financial status, rich or poor,
And their misdeeds.

And, in the end, it breaks my heart to have to say –
It was that reach for friendship
That caused his death!

The editorial in the Waseca paper on September 7th, 1976 read as follows:

“Don Eustice was loved and respected by almost everyone he knew. Even many of those whom he had to bring to justice knew him as a fair man. Don was a leader of overwhelming dynamic force. In his numerous civic activities, he was not only a member of an organization, but more often than not was the primary driving force who either got the organization off the ground or breathed new life into it.

In particular, he was a master at dealing with young people. Many upstanding members of the community today have Don to thank for keeping them or returning them to the straight and narrow path. He felt every youngster, no matter what his circumstances, deserved an even break to make it in this world. Now, he is gone, the victim of an apparently senseless act. One strives to find some possible meaning in this tragic event.

Don Eustice spent his life protecting us not only from eachother, but from ourselves. He was a living example for every one of us to follow. In serving us, he made the ultimate sacrifice – he gave his life. The bell tolls for all of us, asking that this man who serves us shall not have died in vain. He was involved in Mankind, and his death should serve as a cue to all of us to live life as he did, to the fullest.”

Since Don’s death, the Eustice Community Service Award is presented to an individual who has served the community as a leader and assumed responsibility for that service. This award is presented by the Waseca Chamber of Commerce.

In 1978, a scholarship called the “Donald D. Eustice Memorial Scholarship” fund was established to be given to a deserving student in Waseca County who has been accepted in a college of their choice to pursue a career in some form of law enforcement.