Wayne Strom

Wayne Strom, age 75, of McIntosh, MN, passed away on Monday, January 29^th, at Cornerstone Nursing Home in Bagley, MN. A funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, February 10^th, at Mount Carmel Free Lutheran Church in McIntosh with the Rev. Timothy Lundeen officiating. Interment will be in Asphult Cemetery, rural McIntosh. Visitation will be held from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. with a 7:00 p.m. prayer service on Friday, February 9^th, at the McIntosh Community Center. There will also be reviewal for one hour prior to the service on Saturday (10^th) at the church. Arrangements are with Carlin Family Funeral Service of McIntosh and messages of condolence may be shared at www.carlinfuneral.com. 

Wayne Robert Strom was born on April 24, 1948, in Fosston, Minnesota to parents Stanley “Bobby” and Phyllis (nee’, Reichenbach) Strom (Jordet). He grew up in Hill River Township and attended McIntosh High School with the Class of 1967. He worked on the Iron Range until the passing of his father and his brother, David, both at young ages, in 1966 and 1968. After David passed away, Wayne returned home to take over the family farm. 

 Wayne was united in marriage to Vicki Fjerstad on March 28, 1968. Four children were born to this union, Chad, Cindy, Mark, and Marshall. He farmed for over 40 years. In addition to farming, he started his own trucking business, known as Strom Trucking, which he operated for 16 years. For the most part, he hauled cattle and grain to the Twin Cities. Wayne and Vicki moved into McIntosh in 2008 and Wayne retired in 2010. Shortly after his retirement, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, a disease he battled for the remainder of his life. 

Wayne was a jack-of-all-trades. He was a carpenter, farmer, truck driver, construction worker, pipeline worker, road construction, and mowed road ditches. The kids remember that their dad made them always “Walk the Line”, like the Johnny Cash song.

He liked hunting, fishing, snowmobiling and woodworking.

Wayne was a member of Mount Carmel Church where he had been on the council. He was a on the Asphult Cemetery Board, the Hill River Township Board, and was proud member of the Local 49er’s Union. In his retirement years, he kept busy with part-time work, woodworking and liked to travel to the south during the winter months. He also authored a book about his life, entitled “Before My Words Are Gone”. Most of all, he enjoyed his grandchildren, great grandchildren, and family time. He will be dearly missed.

Wayne passed away peacefully on Monday, January 29, 2024, with his family by his side, at Cornerstone Nursing Home in Bagley at the age of 75 years.

Survivors include his wife of 56 years, Vicki, of McIntosh; four children, Chad of Fosston, MN, Cindy (Jeremy) Holmvik of Ramsey, MN, Mark (Danette) of McIntosh, and Marshall of Detroit Lakes, MN; grandchildren, Chassidy (Casey), Kayla, Cortney, Chris (Samantha), Camille (Miles), Corey, Candice (Sam), Chase, Makenzie, Madisyn, Lauren (Dalton), Bryer, Kenyon, Mariyah, and Lucas; and 16 great grandchildren.

Also surviving are six siblings, Julie (Mike) Paquin of Oklee, Joel (Connie) Strom of McIntosh, Dean (Gail) of McIntosh, Mary (Mark) Schmidt of Crookston, Beth (Tim) Fortin of Golden Valley, MN, and Terry (Heide) Strom of Erskine, MN. Numerous nieces, nephews and cousins also survive.

He was preceded in death by his parents; stepfather, Chester Jordet; brother, David; and niece, Natasha Strom.