Community Corner

'Original Mini Donut' Janet Desmond Dies at 97

The Burnsville resident began selling the mini donuts, which are popular at the Minnesota State Fair, for 10 cents for a bag of 10.

Janet Desmond began selling mini donuts as a way to supplement her bakery business in the summer, the Star Tribune reported

Desmond, a Burnsville resident, started the Tom Thumb Donuts business in the 1950s. The business also provided young men with jobs during the summer.

“That’s the first job I ever had and the only job I’ve ever had,” Bob Everett told the paper. Everett is the current president of Tom Thumb Donuts.

Part of the popularity of the donuts is the fact that "customers could watch the donuts being made in machines," the paper stated.

Though married, Desmond did not have any children of her own. She treated her longtime employees like her sons. Everett and another employee, Rod Beltz received the business from the Desmonds in 2004.

Desmond died on July 2 at the age of 97.

Read the full obituary on the Star Tribune.


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