Obituaries 9/2/21

Nancy Dupont, 75

Nancy Jean Dupont, more commonly referred to as Mother, Sister, Grandma, and Friend, passed away peacefully on Monday, August 23rd, 2021, at the age of 75. She died as she lived – with family close by her side.

Nancy was gifted to the world on October 5, 1945, in Hamel, Minnesota, to Lucille (Hines) and Lawrence Pouliot. Following her graduation from Wayzata High School, she married David Dupont Jr. on September 14, 1963, in Hamel, MN. Nancy and David were blessed with five children and established their life in Buffalo, MN. After many years of staying home to raise her children, Nancy decided to reenter the workforce. She found a home away from home working at Walmart in Buffalo from 1990 until her retirement in May 2018. Many amazing friendships amongst co-workers and customers were made during her time there.

Nancy’s greatest joys in life were her children and grandchildren. She spent every minute possible with them enjoying meals, games, crafts, travel, and watching them in their sports and activities. Nancy was immensely proud of her family, as we continue to be of her. Nancy had a knack of making people feel loved, and always knew how to brighten someone’s day, often with the baked goods she was famous for.

Nancy was preceded in death by her parents, Lucille and Lawrence Pouliot; sisters, Avis Pouliot and Audrey Stimler; brothers, David, Alfred (Butch), Allen, and Dennis.

Nancy will be deeply missed by her children, Holly (Craig) Dapper, Kim (Joe) Young, Dan (Laura) Dupont-Jarrett, Melissa (Jim) Brings and Doug (Theresa) Dupont; nine grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; sisters, Arlene Porter and Annette Clark; and many nieces, nephews, family and friends.

A Celebration of Nancy’s Life was held on Saturday, August 28 at The Land of Promise Church in Buffalo.

Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to The Peterson Chapel of Buffalo, MN. Online condolences for the family may be directed to www.thepetersonchapel.com.

 


Tony Fehn, 52

3/17/1969 - 8/24/2021

Tony was born in Monticello, Minnesota to Kenneth and Barbara (Robeck) Fehn.

Tony attended St. Michael Albertville High School and graduated in 1987. He attended college at St. Cloud State University and Hennepin Technical College, receiving a degree in architectural drafting.

Tony met the love of his life, Janelle Wicht, in 1998. Tony and Janelle were married September 7, 2001; they were blessed with four children, Amelia (15), Adeline (14), Levi (12) and Alaina (10).

Tony had a wide range of work experience, including 17 years in sales at J & B Group, and the last several years self-employed doing real estate renovation, home building and property management. He loved construction and fixing up houses and was very good at it.

Tony loved spending time with his family, and he watched his kids play hundreds of basketball games. He also enjoyed spending time on the pontoon, fishing, and deer hunting.

Tony was the most selfless person around. He would go without, so his kids could have everything they needed. He drove old vehicles and wore old clothes. Tony was incredibly personable; he could talk to anybody about anything. He was a friend to so many people!

Tony is preceded in death by his father, Kenneth Fehn; and brothers, Paul Fehn and Mark Fehn.

Tony is survived by his wife, Janelle; children, Amelia, Adeline, Levi and Alaina; mother, Barbara; sisters, Margie Beaudry (Howard), Theresa Amy (Brian); and many aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews. 

There will be a celebration of Tony’s life on Thursday, September 2nd at Westbridge Church in St. Michael. Visitation will be from 10:00-11:00 a.m., Service at 11:00 a.m., and luncheon to follow for family and close friends.

 


Andrew Michalicek, 71

Celebration of Life for Andrew Michalicek on Sunday, September 5th. The family of Andrew John Michalicek, former resident of Wright County whose family has long-term connections here, will host a “Celebration of Life” for Andrew on Sunday, September 5, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the upper pavilion of Sturges Park in Buffalo, Minnesota. The public is welcome to join the family in celebrating his life, accomplishments (which includes a large number of scientific and engineering inventions), and his long-term commitment to working with youth in the communities where he lived. 

Andrew John Michalicek was born on April 27, 1949, to Steve and Doloris (Hohn) Michalicek in Cherokee, Iowa. He is a great-grandson of Henry Mavencamp who settled in Wright County in 1885.  Andrew was the fourth child in the family of ten children and spent much of his younger years growing up in Iowa. Upon graduating from Marshalltown, Iowa Senior High School, Andrew joined the United States Navy where he became an Electronics mate and served during the Vietnam era. 

When his Navy commitment was completed, Andrew enrolled at Iowa State University where he completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and studied for his master’s degree.  During summer breaks, Andrew lived with his parents who had moved to Ramsey Lake, just south of Maple Lake. Andrew also interned for Northern State’s Power at their Monticello Nuclear facility during this time.

Andrew’s Master’s thesis work at Iowa State included working with a team of University of Iowa scientists developing the guidance system of the Van Allen Radio Telescope in Iowa City. Dr. James Van Allen, the discoverer of the Van Allen Radiation Belts and long-time Professor at the University of Iowa, was an active participant in this project. It was the first of what turned out to be many work-related projects aimed at ‘space exploration’ for Andrew.

After completing his time at Iowa State, Andrew began working at Collins Radio in Cedar Rapids, Iowa where met and married Cheryl Cox in August of 1982. The couple remained married until Andrew’s death January 16th of this year. Andrew and Cheryl had two children, Jennifer Lynn, born in 1983, and Jacob Thomas, adopted in 2012.

Andrew’s career spanned a number of years working on major projects for both the business community and the space/aerospace industry. He was a primary developer for United Parcel System in the upgrading of their tracking, warehouse and packaging delivery codes.

For the last 20+ years of his life, he worked for Honeywell Space Systems out of Phoenix and Houston where he led Honeywell’s Autonomous Robotics team. His final job was working on the landing system for the Mars Perseverance Rover, and Andrew was the chief developer of the Mars Ingenuity Helicopter.  Ingenuity became the first vehicle to perform a powered-controlled flight by an aircraft on a planet besides Earth, taking off vertically, hovering and landing on Mars April 21, 2021. (Unfortunately, this was over three months after Andrew’s death.) Ingenuity was originally scheduled to do five flights on this first deployment, but as of August 16, Ingenuity has made 12 flights on Mars and expects to keep flying as long as it is able to do so. In recognition of his persistent work in promoting and developing Ingenuity, Honeywell and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA) decided to list Andrew as the “Inventor” on their Patent Application for Ingenuity.

Andrew was preceded in death by his parents; sister, Judie (Rose-Buffalo); and nephews, Christopher and Astra.

He is survived by his wife, Cheryl (Phoenix, AZ); daughter, Jennifer (Orlando, FL); and son, Jacob.   Andrew also is survived by his brothers, Stephen (Houston), Randall (Plymouth, MN), Patrick (Buffalo), and Michael (Cedar Falls, IA). Surviving sisters include, Mary Tuttle (Phoenix), Karolyn Skudlarek (St. Cloud), Kathleen Michalicek (Howard Lake), and Anne Fordyce (St. Louis). Also surviving is a first cousin, Arnold Michalicek, of Maple Lake, who has been considered a ‘member’ of the family and is considered by the family as a brother to all. Andrew also has over 70 nephews and nieces.

 


Russell Paumen, 88

Russell John Paumen, age 88, of Maple Lake, died Monday, August 23, 2021, with family at his side.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held 10:30 a.m., Thursday, September 2, 2021, at St. Timothy Catholic Church in Maple Lake with Fr. John Meyer as the Celebrant. Burial will follow at St. Charles Catholic Cemetery in Chatham Township. Visitation was held from 3-7 p.m. on Wednesday and will also be held 9-10 a.m. on Thursday, both at Dingmann Funeral Care Chapel in Maple Lake. Parish Prayers were led by Fr. Kevin Magner at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday at the funeral chapel. Services will be livestreamed on the funeral home website.

Russell John Paumen, the son of Leonard and Muriel (Pribyl) Paumen, was born September 30, 1932, at the family farm in Chatham Township. He was the second of fourteen children to grow up at the farm. Russ graduated from Maple Lake High School with the Class of 1950. Following graduation, he honorably served his country in the U.S. Army in the Korean War. On January 14, 1956, Russ was united in marriage to Martha Elfmann at St. Timothy Catholic Church in Maple Lake. They lived in St. Paul for a short time prior to building a home in Coon Rapids, where they lived for 11 years. In 1966, they built another home in Chaska. In 1973, they purchase the Elfmann family farm on the south side of Rock Lake in Chatham Township near Maple Lake.

Russ worked at American Monarch and Research Inc. for a number of years. He then started at MTS Systems in 1965 until his retirement in August of 1994. Church and family were of utmost importance to Russ. During his 88 years of life, Russell was a devout Catholic and family man. He served on St. Timothy’s Parish Council, was a member of the Knights of Columbus and volunteered countless hours at St. Timothy Catholic Church and School. Russ was also a member of the Maple Lake VFW, where he formerly served as Commander and on the Honor Guard.

Russell enjoyed camping, impromptu road trips, gardening, fishing, dancing, and playing polka and big band music. Many times, when the family was together, he would place on a record and open the windows to the lake for all to hear.

He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Martha; six children, Christa (Bill) Nagorski, of Lakeville, Alan (Linnae) Paumen, of Norwood Young America, Kurt (Kristina) Paumen, of Henderson, NV, Laurie (Joe) Geris, of Prior Lake, Sandra (James) Smith, of Elk River, and Carolyn (Blake) Johnson, of Maple Lake; 11 grandchildren, John Ingebrand, Kate Herman, Matthew Ingebrand, Rebecca Nienaber, Elisa Litfin, Ryan Geris, Jenna Geris, Jared Smith, Molly Deschenes, Ben Brown, and Sara Brown; 13 great-grandchildren, Anna, Ellen, Gus, Louie, Vidya, Asha, Naveen, Irani, Eleanor, Michael, Mae, Lucas and Lyla; sisters and brothers, Marcella (Norbert), of Maple Lake, Mary Van Offeren, of Maple Lake, Jerry (Joyce) of Buffalo, Tom (Linda) of Buffalo, Maurice (Karen) of Waite Park, Rick (Judy) of Maple Lake, John (Nancy), of Eden Prairie, Jean (Gary) Neutz, of Monticello, David (Marlene), of Hoover, AL, Doug (Wanda), of Becker, and Greg (Diana), of South Haven; and many other relatives and friends.

Russell was preceded in death by his grandparents, Thomas and Artemese (LaFave) Pribyl and John and Margaret (Schuegers) Paumen; parents, Leonard and Muriel (Pribyl) Paumen; granddaughter, Elizabeth Paumen; sister, Lenore Paumen; brother and sister-in-law, Robert and LaVonne Paumen; and brother-in-law, George Van Offeren.

Russell’s grandchildren will serve as casket bearers. Krista Elsenpeter and Shannon Paumen will provide the music for the service. Military honors will be provided by the Maple Lake American Legion and VFW Honor Guard and the Army National Guard Honor Guard. Arrangements are entrusted with Dingmann Funeral Care Burial & Cremation Services of Maple Lake.

Obituary, Tribute Wall, Video Tribute and Funeral Webcast online at www.dingmannfuneral.com.

 

 


Brandon Sleypen, 47

Brandon Thomas Sleypen, age 47, of Delano, passed away at his home on Thursday, August 26, 2021.

Brandon was born and baptized on December 31,1973, to Tom and Sandy (Martin) Sleypen, of Buffalo. He was confirmed on May 1, 1988. Brandon attended Buffalo High School and graduated with the class of 1992. After high school, he attended Hennepin Technical College for diesel mechanics.

Brandon met his wife, Wendy Shank, in high school. They were united in marriage on May 3, 1997. They were blessed with three children, Brandi (21), Zachary (18), and Ryan (17).

Brandon was currently employed at Northern Lines Contracting as a heavy equipment operator. He was a talented equipment operator and could easily run or fix anything that was asked of him. Brandon has been in this industry his whole working career. He started out working for and eventually running the family business T&S Trucking, and branching out with his own business, Brandon Sleypen Trucking, before his current employment with Northern Lines.

Brandon was known for his hard-work ethic and his giving, helpful and selfless personality. He was an amazing friend and would give the shirt off his back to help anyone. He loved and was very proud of his family. Brandon was a motorhead and a diehard Motley Crue fan. He loved big trucks and equipment, snowmobiling, ATVing, boating, and being outside hiking and enjoying nature.

Brandon is survived by his wife, Wendy; children, Brandi, Zachary, and Ryan; parents, Tom and Sandy; sister, Kelli (Tom Carlston); grandmother, Dorothy Gavett; and many other extended family members.

“To anyone out there who is struggling with suicidal thoughts, it’s not a sign of weakness to ask for help. It’s a sign of strength.”

Services will be held for Brandon on Friday, September 3, 2021, at Light of Christ Lutheran Church, 3976 County Line Rd SE, Delano, MN. Visitation at 11:00 AM. Funeral at 1:00 PM. Refreshments to follow.

Serving the family is The Peterson Chapel of Buffalo, MN, 763-682-1363, www.thepetersonchapel.com.

 


Celebrations of Life

 

Carolyn McCanless

Carolyn “Connie” Kreitlow McCanless Memorial Service, September 11, 2021, 11:00 AM, Buffalo United Methodist Church (BUMC), Buffalo, Minnesota.

Visitation with family and friends will be held in the church lobby one hour prior to the service. The service will be live-streamed at the BUMC website (www.buffaloumc.org) and/or YouTube.

Connie died in Arizona on February 10, 2021, and her ashes were interred next to her husband, “Mac” McCanless, on February 23, 2021, at Fountain Hills Presbyterian Church. The service was limited to immediate family due to COVID-19 restrictions in place at that location.

 

Publication: 

The Drummer and The Wright County Journal Press

PO Box 159
108 Central Ave.
Buffalo MN 55313

www.thedrummer.com

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