Darius R. Jaspers age 86, passed away July 29, 2026.
Darius was born May 16, 1940, in Webster, SD to Vivian and Raymond Jaspers. He grew up alongside his sister, Monica on a farm in Eden, SD, where he attended grade school and graduated from Roslyn High School in 1958. The stories of his childhood included at the age of 10, lining up seven horses to pull a plow and he fondly remembered a horse named Nellie and his dog Rinty from his Uncle Delmar. It was in high school that Darius’s love of music began. He taught accordion lessons and started a dance band that played at area county fairs.
Following high school, Darius attended Northern State College in Aberdeen, SD, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Instrumental Music. Throughout college, he continued playing in a dance band, offering private accordion lessons, performing in contests and on TV. He also worked on his Master’s Degree at the VanderCook School of Music in Chicago.
On July 21, 1962, Darius married Angela Hettwer. His teaching career began in Pierpont, SD, and made their way to Buchanan, MI, where he directed an instrumental band that put on a patriotic show which earned a standing ovation. Eventually, he changed careers, working as a corporate recruiter in South Bend, IN, before starting his own recruiting business located in the Foshay Tower, downtown Minneapolis.
Throughout this time, Darius and Angie had nine children and relocated to Prior Lake, MN where Darius and Angie raised their children. While his kids were growing up, Darius stayed involved by coaching baseball, basketball, and football teams. The family business allowed them to travel to all 50 states, five European countries and all across Canada.
Darius is survived by his wife of 64 years, Angela “Angie”; children, Mark (Mary) Jaspers of Dunnellon, FL; Lynn Jaspers (Jeff Campbell) of Cape Coral, FL; Scott Jaspers of Little Falls, Glenn Jaspers of Bloomington; Vickie (Steve) Baeyen of Webster; Denise (Steve) Forster of Savage and Brett (Bonnie) Jaspers of Prior Lake; grandchildren, Drew Jaspers, Nicole Lind, Shauna Stephens (Omar Muhammad), Holly Lind (Griffin Shuler), Hannah Lind, Max Baeyen, Sam Baeyen, Martha Rae Dahlman, Sabrina Jaspers, Austin Rocheleau, Landon Schultheis, and Holly Anderson; great-granddaughter, Sarah M. Omar; and his brother-in-law, Dale Wald of Albertville, MN.
He was preceded in death by his sons, Neil Jaspers and Brian (Dena) Jaspers along with their son, Joshua; parents, Vivian and Raymond Jaspers and his sister Monica Wald.
Mass of Christian Burial was held on Friday, August 7 at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Prior Lake, MN. Mass will be live-streamed/ recorded at http://www. youtube.com/@StMichaelPL. Burial at St. Michael’s Catholic Cemetery.