Daniel Baustian


Daniel Baustian, 65, Pipestone died Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2022 at the Avera McKennan Hospital and UHC in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Visitation was held Sunday, Oct. 30 from 4-7 p.m. at Hartquist Funeral Home, Pipestone Chapel with a prayer service at 7 p.m.

Mass of Christian Burial was held Monday, Oct. 31 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Leo Catholic Church in Pipestone with Msgr. Gerald Kosse officiating.

Honorary casket bearers were Katie Baustian, Betsy Gorham, Becca Ostraat, Terry Hake, Michael Darling and Peter Bunge.

Casket bearers were Danny Baustian, Tim Baustian, Jeff Baustian, Rick Baustian, John Baustian and Joe Baustian.

Interment was in St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery, Jasper.

Daniel Paul (Bookem) Baustian was born January 8, 1957, in Sioux Falls, S.D., to Virgil (Bud) and Josephine(Mitzi) Baustian. Dan joined his parents and two older brothers, Jerry and Jim, on the farm south of Beaver Creek, Minn. After a two-year stint at Hardwick, Dan and the family moved to the farm at Jasper, Minn. It was in Jasper where Dan received his education. Dan loved farming and sports. He could do almost any farm job on a tractor by the time he was 14 or 15. When Dan was a sophomore, he decided to try his hand at wrestling. He was doing really well for his first year with a 10-3 record. It was on February 3, 1973, that Dan’s life changed forever. A freak wrestling accident fractured Dan’s neck and left him a quadriplegic. Never one to give up, and with a lot of hard work, Dan returned to school to finish his high school education in his wheelchair. Dan graduated in May 1975.

After high school, Dan attended Pipestone Vocational School in the Ag banking program. After graduation from vocational school, Dan worked a short time from his parents’ home selling O’s Gold seed corn. In 1979, Dan decided on a new path in life and moved to Golden Valley, Minn., to Courage Center. It was at Courage Center where Dan met his new roommate, Terry Hake, who would become his lifelong best friend. After Courage Center, the boys moved into a new accessible space house at 3710 S. Chicago Ave. in Minneapolis. It was here that the boys lived for 40 years. Soon after the move, Dan enrolled at Minneapolis Community College where he studied computer programming. After an internship at Norwest Bank, Dan began full time work as a programmer for Norwest. One of Dan’s team’s projects was to write the Y2K program for the year 2000. After Norwest and Wells Fargo merged, Dan continued working for Wells Fargo until his death.

During his many years in Minneapolis, Dan lived a full life and made many friends, including the boys at the Chicago house: Terry, Mike Darling, Bob Rogge and Peter Bunge. It was at the Chicago house that Dan got his nickname “Bookem.” It started in 1982 when the boys had a Halloween party. When Dan came into the room, everyone said, “Who are you?” Dan was dressed in a Hawaiian shirt with messed up hair and said, “I’m Bookem Dano from Hawaii 5-0,” and the nickname stuck.

Dan was active at his local parish, the Church of the Holy Name, where he sang in the choir for many years and made many lifelong friends. Dan was a huge Minnesota Gophers fan and had season tickets to both the men’s and women’s basketball teams for many years. Dan spent many enjoyable nights with his personal game chauffeurs Kevin Scott and Julie Vangsness.

Over the years, Dan made many trips as he loved to travel. Cruises in the Caribbean, trips to Miami to see friends Mike and Dotti, three trips to Hawaii. Many thanks to all the different girls that accompanied Dan on these adventures as his aides.

Two years ago in August, Dan’s family moved him home as his house closed because of the George Floyd incident across the street. Dan lived with his mom until last February when he moved into his new home in Pipestone, Minn. Dan and his brother Jim designed all the handicap modifications to the house of which Dan was so proud. It was at his new house that Dan resided at the time of his death.

Dan is survived by his mother, Mitzi Baustian, and his two brothers Jerry (Julie) and Jim (Carolynn), three nieces, six nephews, four great-nieces and four great-nephews. Dan also leaves behind many close friends whom he considered as his family.

He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Walter and Frances Baustian, and James and Marguerite Adams, and father, Virgil Baustian.

(Hartquist Funeral Home,

Pipestone Chapel)