Carl R. Gansen

Carl R. Gansen, age 69, of Belle Plaine, died September 14, 2023 at home surrounded by his family.  Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, December 9th, 2023 at 10:30 A.M. at Our Lady of the Prairie (OLP) Catholic Church in Belle Plaine.  Fr. Michael Kaluza and Msgr. John Richter will be officiating.  Visitation will be 9:00-10:30 A.M. at the church, prior to Mass.  Interment will be in the Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery in Belle Plaine after Mass and a reception luncheon will follow at the OLP parish hall.

There will be a live stream of the Mass available to those who would like to virtually attend at the following link:  www.ourladyoftheprairie.com

Carl was born on June 5, 1954 to Arnold and Patricia (Jirik) Gansen in New Prague, MN. He grew up on the family farm 2 ½ miles north of Union Hill. Carl attended Union Hill grade school until the end of 5th grade, when he transferred to New Prague Schools. He graduated from New Prague Public High School class of 1972 and then went to Mankato Vocational School to study Electronics. Over the years, Carl worked for 3M in New Ulm and Beckman Coulter in Edina.

In 1976, one night after work, he went roller skating at a roller rink in Roseville when a girl asked him to skate with her.  Unbeknownst to Carl that this girl would be the one he would celebrate the next 46 years with.  On August 20, 1977, he married Georgine Schulte at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Bird Island.  They built a house in Rosemount, where they raised four children.  In 1978, Carl accepted a position at Rosemount Emerson as an Electronic Engineer in Research and Development.  While working, Carl also took classes at Normandale College and taught Electronics for two years to adults at the Dakota County Vocational night school program. In 1986, Carl, Georgine and their four children moved to the Belle Plaine area and built a new home on a small hobby farm at the top of the hill two miles from town. Carl loved this home on the hill where he had once picked black walnut and butternuts with his grandfather.   After 37 years of employment at Rosemount Emerson, Carl retired in 2015. In 2017, he was diagnosed with prostate and kidney cancer.

He loved his wife and children, but especially loved playing with the grandchildren.  Carl enjoyed reading, listening to music, fishing, target shooting, gardening, walking in the woods, going for leisurely drives, looking for morel mushrooms and mowing the lawn for hours.  He taught himself how to play the Ukulele, which he donated to the OLP School music teacher to learn and teach at the school.

Carl spent many hours “Hamming it up” as a ham radio operator (Hamming it up (srperspective.com)).  At the age of 12, Carl studied Amateur Ham Radio.  He got his license and call sign (WN0CFF novice license), advancing to WB0CFF at the age of 16. He had talked to many people around the world and used Morse Code to communicate with others, continuing up to the last two months of his life.

Carl was a member of the OLP School Board, Parish Council, serving 15 years as the chairman of children's games for the Fall Festival and finally, as the Parish Trustee.  He loved the OLP church, encouraging the parish to name the new gathering space “The Father Roedel Hall”.  He also requested to postpone his funeral until the church was finished painting the inside for all his family and friends to see God’s new house of worship.  Carl and Georgine, famously, were the master chefs of the annual spaghetti supper to benefit the school for 21 years.

The family would like to thank the doctors and nurses at Methodist Hospital, Park Nicollet Clinic and the Frauenshuh Cancer Center.  A special thank you to the wonderful Ridgeview Hospice Team for their care the last two and half months of his earthly life.

Carl touched many lives and he will be dearly missed.  He finally got his ticket to the beautiful heaven he saw before passing.  May he rest in peace now in his world of everlasting happiness.

Memorial donations to be made to the OLP Catholic Church and School.

Survived by:

His wife:  Georgine

Children:  Anton (Kristyn) of Chanhassen, Matthew (Colleen) of Henderson, Carl Wm (Emily) of St. Augustine, FL, and Favorite Daughter Ann (Trenton) of Little Canada

Grandchildren:  Connor, Mackenzie, Sophia, Eleanor and Cole

Parents:  Arnold and Patricia Gansen

Siblings:  Favorite Sister Denise (Robert) Edstrom,

Brothers: Steven and Thomas Gansen

Sisters and brothers-in-law:  Judith (George) Jacobs, Shirley Schulte, Mark (Ruth) Schulte, Joseph (Karen) Schulte.

Many aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, great nieces, nephews, the Ham Radio community and friends.

Gracie the cat!

Preceded in death by:

Father and Mother-in-law, Martin and Helen Schulte

Brothers-in-law: Roger and Thomas Schulte