“The Church is the Church only when it exists for others; not dominating, but helping and serving. It must tell men of every calling what it means to live for Christ, to exist for others.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Ephesians 4:4
“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling.”
1 Peter 4:11
“Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ.”
Don was born Moline, IL, where he was one of five children of his parents, Alexander Fie Strandlund and Ina Elizabeth Hellgren Strandlund, immigrants from Sweden. His father died when Don was only about ten years old, and his mother assumed the task of raising the children. He graduated from Moline High School (Go Maroons!) in 1948 and entered four years of service in the United State Navy in Memphis, TN. A friend from Cullman, AL invited him to meet “a beautiful girl” during his time in Memphis, so he came to Cullman and met Mary Magdelene Wood, from Logan, AL.
Don and Mary married in October 1950 and returned to Don’s home in Moline, IL. This is probably when he first received the call to ordained ministry from God, possibly as portrayed in the words from Ephesians and 1 Peter above. Working in a job as a photographer part-time and now beginning a family with children, he attended Augustana College in Rock Island, IL (using the G.I. Bill) and then was accepted at the Augustana Theological Seminary after earning his bachelor’s degree.
During seminary, his family spent his year of internship at First Lutheran Church in White Bear Lake, MN. This was a place where all the members of his family made some of the best lifelong friends they were ever to know. Upon completion of seminary, his whole family made a long, long trip from Northwest Illinois to Seattle, Washington in June of 1961. There he was ordained with his classmates and with other nationwide seminary graduates who had earned their Master of Divinity degree. Right after that, no one will ever know how close his family came to being missionaries in Borneo! Yes, Borneo, on the equator in southeast Asia! How different that life may have been for all of his family. However, he accepted a call to Tampa, FL where he began, with nothing but his initiative and support from the synod, a new mission named St. Mark’s Lutheran Church. The church was a house with all the walls knocked down for the sanctuary, and Don’s old desk served as the altar. And, so began his ordained ministry in the church.
Don was meticulous and faithful, keeping a Pastoral Record of all his years as a Lutheran minister. He kept a file drawer at his house containing every sermon he had ever written. His format from the beginning was single-sided notes on 5 ½ X 8 ½ paper. Bill Strandlund, his son, perused the contents of that drawer and the Pastoral Record book and had an idea. He would electronically scan all these documents and create a cataloged collection of these items to tell and share the story of his Life Ministry for all those who were touched by it. It took a great deal of time to complete it in the form Bill envisioned but complete it he did. Because there must be a statement of this man (and this woman’s) legacy for responding to a calling from God. An electronic copy of all those files was given to Don’s extended family members the night of his 70th Wedding Anniversary celebration with his wife, Mary. Bill believes the quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer above sums it up the best and is the essence of why this husband and father made his decision to devote his life gift in this fashion.
During his 40+ years of ministry, Rev. Strandlund served as Pastor, Assistant Pastor, or Interim Pastor at churches in Tampa, FL; White Bear Lake, MN; DeLand, FL; Melbourne, FL; St. Petersburg, FL; Lakeland, FL; Cullman, AL; Florence, AL; Jacksonville, AL; and Anniston, AL.
Rev. Don will be remembered for his sharp wittiness and ever-present humor, telling a good joke whenever he could and always laughing and having a good time. He was especially fond of time spent with family members, and that is what he treasured the most. His unwavering faith was an example for all with whom he came in contact and the way he lived his life clearly demonstrated his faith.
Don is survived by his wife of more than 75 years, Mary Magdelene Wood Strandlund; his son, William A. Strandlund (Claudia); his daughter, Christine A. Strandlund; five grandchildren: Rev. Daniel P. Strandlund (Lucy); Anna Caroline Strandlund Dudley-Robertson (Jason); Sally Culpepper Warren (Nathan); William Joseph Culpepper (Jenna); and Russell Lewis Culpepper; as well as five great-grandchildren: Augustus Lowell Warren (Gus); Abraham Banks Warren (Abe); MJ Dudley; Arliss Wilkes Freeman; and Nora Bell Culpepper.
He was preceded in death by his aforementioned parents, George Washington Jones (stepfather); two brothers, Robert Lee Strandlund and Warren Truman Strandlund; and two sisters, Betty Jane Strandlund Lindberg and Dorothy Faye Strandlund Hunt.
A memorial service will be held at Grace Episcopal Church 305 Arnold Street Northeast in Cullman on Thursday, February 19, 2026, at 11 a.m. Visitation with the family prior to the service will take place in the Parish Hall from 9:30 a.m. until 10:45 a.m. A light reception will be held in the Parish Hall to further greet the family after internment in the columbarium. The family requests that donations be made to the Grace Episcopal Church Rector’s Discretionary Fund in lieu of flowers.
