Edward J. Penner

Penner, Edward J. 82, of Osseo, Minnesota, died on Easter, April 1, 2018. Born in North Minneapolis on May 3, 1935, Ed was preceded in death by his father Otto and mother Inga, brothers Wallace and Lawrence and sisters Gladys, Alice, Dorothy and Florence (Babe). He is survived by the love of his life and wife of 50 years Marjorie Penner (Swanson). Their courtship involved many dates on the dance floor. During these dates, Ed could demonstrate two of his many skills; dancing and sweeping Marge off her feet. They were married on August 26, 1967 at the Asphult Lutheran Church in Fosston, Minnesota, that has since relocated to Thief River Falls. Ed and Marge have been members of the Minneapolis Central Lutheran Church for more than 50 years. He is also survived by brother Bernie, nieces and nephews and many treasured friends and acquaintances. Ed graduated in 1954 from Patrick Henry High School, followed by two years in the U.S. Army at Fort Hood, Texas. Born with a good sense of humor, he liked to joke that he served with Elvis Presley. This involved seeing Elvis a few times from his car window. A jack of all trades, Ed worked at Franklin Creamery during his high school years and loaded feed, fertilizer and seed for Land-O- Lakes. Ed was also an illustrator at the Atlas Missile Site, tried his hand at sheet metal like his father and brothers and made molds for Samsonite Luggage, to name a few of his vocations before finding his calling as a bricklayer. When driving around Minneapolis with Ed, you never knew when he would point to a building and say, "I helped build that." He was a member of Bricklayer Union #1 in Minneapolis for more than 50 years. Ed knew how to keep busy, and one of the ways was through sports. Throughout his life, Ed enjoyed all major sports, especially playing fast and slow pitch softball where he competed in leagues in North Minneapolis as well as Denver, Colorado. He loved the outdoors, often traveling to northern Minnesota for hunting and fishing trips with friends and family. Ed valued the simple things in life, especially nature. Watching and feeding birds gave Ed great enjoyment and he spent many hours building birdhouses and feeders that were much preferred over store-bought structures. In his later years, Ed ended each day at his lake cabin admiring sunsets with an attitude of gratitude, peace, joy, and thankfulness. His packed to-do list always carried over to the next day. A memorial service is planned for 11:30 a.m., Thursday, April 19, 2018, with visitation 1 hour before at Glen Haven Chapel, 5125 West Broadway, Crystal, Minnesota, followed by a luncheon reception. Washburn-McReavy.com Glen Haven Chapel 763-533-8643

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Edward J. Penner

April 1, 2018

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