Wayne Paulson

Wayne Paulson, age 76, of Fosston, MN, passed away on Thursday, March 25th, at  home surrounded by his loving family. A Memorial Mass will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 31st, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Fosston with Father JohnMelkies Suvakeen presiding. Interment will be in St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery, Fosston. Family will greet friends from 11:00 a.m. until the time of service on Wednesday at the church. All are welcome to attend with mask use required. Military honors will be conducted by the National Guard Honors Team. Arrangements are with Carlin Family Funeral Service of Fosston and messages of condolence may be shared at www.carlinfuneral.com. Memorials may be sent to Loaves and Fishes Food Shelf or Essentia Hospice of Fosston.

Wayne was born in Fosston on August 30, 1944 to Caleb and Olga Paulson.  He graduated from Fosston in 1962 and then joined the United States Army.  He served from February 19, 1963 to February 25, 1965 as a clerk typist.  After his discharge, he returned to Fosston where his young bride, Dorothy (Lundhagen) Paulson was waiting.  Wayne and Dorothy were married in Fosston on May 4, 1963 and shared 57 years together as husband and wife.  Wayne and Dorothy raised 4 children and spent the majority of their time together in Fosston.

Throughout his life, Wayne had many obstacles that provided challenges to him.  He was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1990, hospitalized for almost a year with a virus, and most recently was diagnosed with colon cancer.  Throughout these years he taught us to never give up and keep fighting.  He adapted To without any hesitation to the challenges he faced in life.

After Wayne’s honorable discharge from the military, he and Dorothy moved to Grand Forks, ND where he worked at the missile sites and later the Singer Company. While at the Singer Company  he learned his trade of sewing machine repair that has come in handy up through his last years of life.  Wayne and Dorothy later moved to Grafton, ND where he worked at an appliance store.  After a short period of time, roads lead them back to Fosston where he continued to work in the appliance business at Halvorson Appliance which later became Mireault’s Appliance.  He spent about 20 years at Mireault’s until he was forced to retire due to health issues.  After recovering from another health challenge he returned to the workforce as a bookkeeper at Millers Building Center.  Again, life changed and Wayne’s health made it difficult to leave his house on a daily basis.  At this point, he and Dorothy decided to purchase an engraving business that he could run out of his home.  He spent many hours engraving products for people in the community.  If you think of Wayne, the word that comes to mind is hardworking, along with his full time jobs, he always had another job on the side.  Wayne spent time in the police reserves, working with the ambulance service, driving school bus, and working as a volunteer firefighter.

What was most important to Wayne was his time with Dorothy.  They enjoyed and appreciated every cup of coffee with friends who would stop by at any given time.  Hours were spent visiting at the kitchen table, in the front yard, or more recently at the table in the garage.  In his younger years he spent many hours farming the homestead land with his brother Wally.  When Wayne had a free moment, he would find time for fishing, hunting, and camping.  Many of these interests have been passed down to his children and grandchildren.

He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Dorothy; his four children, Darren (Lori) Paulson of Fosston, MN; Dawn (Daryl) Grandstrand of Lino Lakes, MN; Daynelle (Patrick) Blake of Fargo, ND; and  Dustin Paulson, Thief River Falls, MN; and 12 lovely grandchildren.  As he entered the gates of Heaven he was reunited with his parents, brother Wally, sister Maxine, and many other loved family members.  Wayne will be missed by family and friends but many memories will fill our hearts.