Obituary of Dr. Don Prestle Amren

AMREN, Dr. Don Prestle, age 91, of Bloomington, MN., passed peacefully on April 4, 2024.

Born November 27, 1932 in Upsala, MN, Don was the only child of Morris and Marie Amren. He graduated from St. Louis Park High School in 1950, Macalester College in 1954, and went on to study medicine at Yale University. He married his high-school sweetheart, Nancy Keen, in 1956, and received his MD degree in 1958. Following completion of his internship and pediatric residency at the U of MN in 1961, he served two years in the US Army as a pediatrician for troop families stationed in Heidelberg, Germany.

In 1963, Don joined the St. Louis Park Medical Center (now Park Nicollet), where he practiced pediatrics, specializing in infectious disease, for 27 years. He did clinical research and teaching at the U of MN. Don was elected to the Board of Directors of the American Board of Pediatrics in 1985 where he served for 29 years, 16 as an oral examiner. He retired from pediatric practice in 1990, to become the first Vice President of Medical Affairs at Methodist Hospital.

Don was a member of Alpha Omega Alpha, the national medical honor society. In 1997, he was awarded the Gold-Headed Cane by the U of MN Department of Pediatrics in recognition of a lifetime of service to children. He received the Macalester College Distinguished Citizen Award in 2004.

A member of Hennepin Ave. United Methodist Church for 35 years, he joined Good Samaritan UMC in 1991.

A man of few words, Don’s calm, quiet and gentle manner made him a favorite with his young patients and their mothers. Don will be remembered as a dedicated physician, and as a loving husband and father who cherished his family and special time with them at “the lake”.

Preceded in death by his parents, brothers-in-law and sister-in-law Robert Keen, Robert and Virginia Keen Krause. Survived by his wife, Nancy; son Mark (Carmen); daughter Debra (William) Griffin; grandchildren Jadyn, Blake, Max Amren; Mark, Abigail Griffin; sister-in-law Eiko Keen; and many well-loved nieces, nephews, and grandnieces and grandnephews.

A memorial service will be held at Friendship Village Bloomington at a later date. Memorials preferred to Park Nicollet Foundation, 6500 Excelsior Blvd., St. Louis Park, MN 55426, or to FVB Team Member Appreciation Fund, 8100 Highwood Drive, Bloomington, MN 55438.

Arrangements by Cremation Society of Minnesota, Edina, MN.