Ronald "Ron" McKinley Mortensen

Ronald “Ron” Mortensen of Grantsburg, Wisconsin, formerly of Hinckley, Sandstone, Pine City and Rush City, Minnesota, passed away Monday, October 29, 2018 at The Burnett Medical Center - CCC in Grantsburg, WI at the age of 80. Ronald McKinley Mortensen was born with a twin brother, Donald, on August 3, 1938, in St. Paul, MN. Donald died from pneumonia in November, 1938.  Ronald and Donald were the sixth and seventh children in a family that grew to 10 children born to Clarence and Wava Mortensen, when triplet sisters were born in May, 1940. Ron attended elementary schools in St. Paul and Lake Elmo and graduated from Stillwater High School. Ron and his brothers did the heavy lifting necessary to keep the family farms in Lake Elmo, Stillwater and Center City running and productive for their mother and siblings, while their dad was away most of their childhood and early adulthood, because of his career in the Navy. Ron was involved in a serious tractor accident as a young man, which greatly impacted his lower left leg and never healed completely, but didn’t stop his love for farming or tractors.  Ron and Bob bought their own dairy farm in Sandstone in the mid 1960’s, with a minor emphasis in agriculture growing corn and hay. Bob was hospitalized with Farmer’s lung disease and instructed to change careers after about a decade of farming in Sandstone. The two brothers moved to Hinckley and Ron started working at Toby’s and later Cassidy’s Restaurants. Ron owned a house in Pine City and was working at Cassidy’s when dementia stole his ability to continue working and live independently in his home. That’s when his good friend Pastor Dave Ahlquist (deceased) and his wife Carol and the whole Grace Baptist Church community, that Ron loved and felt more at home with than any other place or community, took him under their wings to keep him safe. Ron moved into the Burnett County Continuing Care Center in August, 2014. Dementia took away Ron’s ability to talk, but he continued to smile and laugh and loved to be talked to and hold hands. Ron was a gentle, humble servant of the Lord. Ron is preceded in death by his parents Clarence and Wava Mortensen; brothers Donald, Edward and Robert (Bob) Mortensen; sister Doris Wagar; sister-in-law Bernadine Mortensen; brothers-in-law Ray Wagar and Ken Welander; nephew Paul Welander; nieces Beverly Mortensen and Sarah Borowski.  He is survived by his brother John Mortensen (New Richmond, WI) and sisters Marquerite Welander (Milltown, WI), June Borowski (Maplewood, MN), Jane Mortensen (Maplewood, MN) and Joan Mortensen (Maplewood, MN), and 4 generations of nieces and nephews. Pastor Brad Moore will officiate at funeral services for Ron: 10 AM; Saturday, (November 10, 2018) with a time of visitation and reviewal planned for 1 hour prior to the service all at Grace Church in Grantsburg, WI. The interment will take place in the Union Cemetery in Maplewood, MN.Funeral arrangements are entrusted to the: Funeral and Cremation Service of Rush City~Olson Chapel. www.FuneralAndCremationService.com