Wayne Alden Linstad

About Wayne

Wayne A. Linstad passed away on Monday, May 16, 2022 at the age of 78 in Bemidji MN. He was surrounded by his loving daughters as the morning sun began to fill the sky.

Wayne was born at home on October 19, 1943 in Walsh County ND to Elmer and Agnes Linstad. Wayne and his six siblings were raised on the family farm near Lankin ND. He attended grade school at Cleveland District School before graduating from Fordville High School in Fordville ND. Following graduation, Wayne began his carpentry career working with his brother Marvin building and remodeling homes around the Fordville area.

Wayne met the love of his life, Claris Maixner, in 1963 at a country dance. Wayne and Claris, daughter of Clarence and Blanche Maixner, were married on November 23, 1963 at United Lutheran Church in Brocket ND. Wayne & Claris began married life in Fordville ND where they eventually built their first (of many) homes together. Wayne continued his carpentry work with his brother until he and Claris moved to Bemidji MN where Wayne went to work building homes for Robertson Lumber Company.

In 1974, Wayne transferred to Robertson Lumber in Lakota ND. He and Claris remodeled the old hospital into a home and spent many years enjoying Sunday dinners and holidays with their large extended families. By this time, there were four little girls humming, singing, and non-stop talking to him whether he was trying to nap, working on a remodeling project, or trimming the grass. Date nights for Wayne and Claris became the evenings they worked side-by-side building and remodeling homes around the Lakota area.

In 1978, Wayne received the call to become the Carpentry II Instructor at the Bemidji AVTI. He and Claris couldn’t resist the opportunity to get back to the Lake Country and found a home on Big Turtle Lake. While Wayne truly enjoyed co-hosting family & friend gatherings at the lake, his best days were spent pulling the girls behind the boat on skis or tubes and then fishing with Claris in the evening.

During the winter, Wayne took on the role of snowmobile guide – leading the pack on the big Scorpian sled he nicknamed “Big Red.” Luckily, Fordville and Bemidji both had active curling communities where Wayne and Claris could continue competing in the sport they loved.

For all the fun Wayne had, he worked even harder. When he wasn’t building new homes with his AVTI students, he was busy as a general contractor and builder for his own Linstad Construction business. He also did flooring projects for many years for Carpet Remnant City in Bemidji. And when he needed help on a jobsite, it was the girls or Claris who got put to work. Much of his teaching skill probably came from the experience he gained instructing an all-female crew on how to do things right.

In 2004, after building 28 custom homes with his AVTI students, Wayne decided to retire from teaching. He spent a few more years building homes with his crew until Claris was ready to retire. By the time he completed his last building project, Wayne had built almost 100 homes over his career in addition to remodeling and flooring jobs.

Following Claris’s retirement in 2009, they increased their travel to include attending games and activities of the 10 grandchildren in addition to road trips across the US as well as vacations to Caribean Islands and Hawaii. During their travels, they found a winter home in Wickenburg, AZ and spent many warm winters there. They were still at their Wickenburg home this April when Claris passed away unexpectedly on April 11. It was May 6, 2022 when Wayne received his diagnosis of advanced Pancreatic Cancer.

Wayne’s wry humor and willingness to help made him a favorite with his grandkids. He often let one or two tag along to job sites and often treated them to 4-wheeler or lawnmower rides in between games of Farkle and Cribbage. The grandkids and his daughters always knew they could count on Wayne to help with any building projects – big or small. A few of the grandsons even got to join Wayne, his son-in-laws, and several of his construction buddies on the annual fishing trips to Lac Suel and Lake Tobin in Canada. One of the highlights of Wayne’s fishing career was taking 2nd Place with his son-in-law, Eric, the Amatuer Division of the 2007 In-Fisherman Professional Walleye Trail Tournament. We will never play Monopoly or driveway basketball again without remembering his competitive nature and crazy long-armed hook shot. We were blessed to have this gentle giant as our dad, father-in-law, and grandpa. He will be missed every day in so many ways – especially when his last batch of homemade Hokie Pokie bars run out.

Wayne is survived by his four Daughters: Brenda (John) Lund of Bemidji MN, Paula (Eric) Froehling of Wishek ND, Trisha (Scott) Kasper of Stockton CA, Oleta/OJ (Brant) Magnan of Champlin MN: 10 Grandchildren: Benjamin (Nicole) Lund, Royce Lund, Noah Froehling, Isabella Froehling, Emerson Froehling, Faith Bye, Chance Bye, Gamble Bye, Luca Magnan, Tessa Magnan: Brothers: Clayton (Avis) Linstad of Park River ND, and Merlin (Ann) Linstad of Park River ND, Sister: Corrine Kouba of Minot ND,and Sister-in-Laws Marilyn Linstad of Fordville ND, Judy Linstad of Weston MO; Gen Stand of Lakota ND, and Peggy Haugland of Lakota ND as well as many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Wayne was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Claris, his parents, his brothers Marvin and Raymond, his sister, Eleanor, his infant sister, Vivian, several brother-in-laws, a nephew, and two nieces.

memorial service

Memorial Services for Wayne

May 27, 2022

First Lutheran Church 900 Bemidji Ave N, Bemidji, MN 56601, USA

Visitation: Thursday, May 26, 2022, 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. at Cease Funeral Home in Bemidji, MN.

Post-Visitation Storytelling: Thursday, May 26, 2022, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. at CK Dudley’s Peanut Room. Visitation continues 1 hr prior to the service on May 26. Lunch to follow.

Funeral/Cremation Provider: Cease Family Funeral Home