John David Nordwall Sr.

John David Nordwall was born in St Louis Park, Minnesota, on April 22, 1942. He passed away on February 22, 2025, from pulmonary fibrosis and lung cancer. He was a man with a big heart and a dry sense of humor. As a boy he participated in the Boy Scouts, active with friends from church, and graduated high school from Minnehaha Academy. After some time at North Park College, he returned to Minneapolis and apprenticed to become a lithographer. He was an extremely diligent worker and self-starter with several businesses over his career - in landscaping, tree work, construction, auto painting, carpentry, demolition, recycling, and laminating. He was most proud of his lithography trade and his laminating business - which at its peak had forty-seven employees and was growing strongly until 9/11 shut everything down. He married Gwendolyn Middag on October 19, 1963, and had three children, John Nordwall Jr, Pamela Benson and Stephen Nordwall. He had two grandchildren, Jordan Benson and Greta East Benson who was recently married to Josh East. He loved the outdoors - especially the Lake Superior North Shore, Duluth, and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. He would enjoy watching the ships enter Duluth harbor, all the sites up the Shore, and became a huge fan of pie from the Rustic Inn Cafe. His last trip up the Shore he brought back eleven pies and dropped them off to friends and family. He was known for his quick wit, a big smile, and a sly look. He was six feet six inches tall, and when kids, or anyone would say, "Wow, how tall are you?" he would dryly answer, "Five eighteen", just to watch them think that through. He was a lifelong Vikings fan and was disappointed to not see the Kansas City Chiefs with their third in a row. He was extremely proud of his three children and was a reliable and talented help with house projects. He enjoyed watching them travel and explore the world. He was also immensely proud of both of his two grandchildren and was so grateful to attend Greta and Josh's wedding last summer. He is preceded in death by his father George Lenard Nordwall, his mother Gladys (Johnston) Nordwall, his brother Bruce Nordwall, and son-in-law Douglas Benson. He is survived by his spouse, Gwendolyn (Middag) Nordwall, children John Nordwall Jr, Pamela (Nordwall) Benson, Stephen Nordwall, and grandchildren Jordan Benson and Greta (Benson) East and spouse Josh East. The visitation and funeral will be held at Westwood Lutheran Church in St. Louis Park on Monday, March 10, 2025. Visitation is from 10:00 - 11:00am with the funeral service to follow. A light lunch will be served afterwards. To view the service pleasse visit: https://vimeo.com/event/4573886

Tributes

John David Nordwall Sr.

April 22, 1942 - February 22, 2025

Tributes

John David Nordwall Sr.

April 22, 1942 - February 22, 2025

We are here for you 24x7

Call us and get help now

(612) 377-2203