Vernon LeRoy Mogenson, 81, of Red Wing, died Thursday, April 22, 2021 at his home.
He will be missed July 10 when he celebrates his first heavenly birthday.
He was born July 10, 1939 to Harry and Leona (Ribbe) Mogenson in Summit Township. He attended Hope School and then went onto Owatonna High School, graduating in 1957. While still in school and for a short while after graduation he painted barns in the area. You can still see his handywork in the Summit township countryside. At the end of 1957 he was hired at Jostens where he worked for 34 years, retiring in 1993. He kept busy in retirement, dabbling in real estate with Edina Reality and later selling cars at the Ford dealership. Vernon raised three children, two daughters and one son. In 1981 he married Susan Hall. The couple made their home on a hobby farm in Welch Township. Vern enjoyed being outdoors and despite fracturing his neck a year ago, this past hunting season, he celebrated 65 consecutive years by taking down an 8-point buck. Sue introduced him to keeping horses and he was hooked. He enjoyed spending time in the barn with his animals, in house with his dog and cats, and feeding the birds every morning. He was a grill master and was always trying to pass off his venison burgers as a standard hamburger (with varying success.) In his younger years he enjoyed his bowling and pool leagues. He was a member of United Lutheran Church. His faith was important to him and he participated in the same Bible study group for 25 years. Recently he found great comfort in reading devotionals and he made sure his family kept up with their readings as well.
He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Susan; daughters, Dawn (Dennis) Armstrong of New Richland and Tracy (Scott) Zimmermann of Owatonna; son, Shannon (Melissa) Mogenson of Arizona; 10 grandchildren, Diana, Dane, Jennifer, Ian, Danielle, Jeremy, Courtney, Yuri, Thomas and Alexa; 14 great-grandchildren; as well as nieces and nephews. He is also survived by many beloved animals, especially Miss Maggie his dog and Squirt and Freddy his lap cats.
He is preceded in death by his parents; brother, Jerry (Barb) Mogenson, grandson, Jeffrey; great-grandson, Mason; his in-laws, Merlin and Frances Hall; and many beloved pets, especially Nikki, Hope and Tony the Tiger.
A memorial service was held Thursday, April 29, 2021 at United Lutheran Church in Red Wing with Reverend Richard Hegal officiating.
