Paul Douglas “Doug” Glesne, age 83 of Sunburg, passed away on Sunday July 24, at Carris Health Rice Memorial Hospital in Willmar. Funeral services will be held on Saturday July 30, at 11:00 a.m. at Hope Lutheran Church in Sunburg. Visitation will be on Friday July 29, from 5-7 p.m. at Hope Lutheran Church and will continue one hour prior to the service on Saturday. Burial will be at the West Norway Lake Lutheran Cemetery. Arrangements are with the Peterson Brothers Sunburg Funeral Home. www.petersonbrothers.com
Paul Douglas "Doug" Glesne was born on November 13, 1938, in Willmar, MN to Clarence and Thelma (Rime) Glesne. He was baptized and confirmed at the West Norway Lake Lutheran Church. Doug attended country school at District 29 in Norway Lake Township, rural Sunburg. He continued his education at the Brooten High School and graduated from the Morris Ag School in Morris, MN which is currently the University of Minnesota Morris. He joined the Minnesota National Guard and served 8 years. During that time, he began farming with his father and his Uncle Reuben Glesne which became his lifelong career. On July 1, 1961, he married LaVonne Kosse. To this union four children were born: Sheila Kay, Keith Douglas, Kent Alan and Dawn Marie. They were later divorced. In 2000 Doug met Ardis Knight which started a lifelong companionship. He was an active, lifelong member of Hope Lutheran Church where he served on the church council, cemetery board, usher and took part in the annual lutefisk dinner. He was also a member of the New London American Legion, NRA, American Quarter Horse Association, American Coon Hunters Association, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the Crow River Riders Saddle Club. Doug spent many summer Sundays competing in western events at horse shows and racing horses at the local county fairs. One of his pastimes was raising Chesapeake Bay Retrievers in which he took pride in sending them all over the United States. Another past time was coon hunting with his sons and grandsons and showing how it was done with his many local friends. Some of his favorite times were the annual corn roasts with family and friends at Glesne Lake.
Doug’s real passion was working with cattle and farming alongside his father Clarence and son Kent and grandson Aaren. One of his favorite times was the spring and fall cattle drives, moving the cattle from home to pastures and then pastures to home with the horses, him being in the lead. In later years he enjoyed counting the cows and checking fences on his four-wheeler. He was an avid fur trapper, duck hunter, deer hunter and fisherman. His annual “vacation” was spent at deer camp at Comstock Lake and Spider Lake in Northern Minnesota with family and close friends. He made several trips to Colorado elk hunting and had hopes of going one more time. While he always had a passion for country music and dancing, he found his love for singing while he and Ardy wintered in South Texas. He participated in Karaoke any chance he could and started singing in church. A proud moment for him was being asked to sing at his granddaughters wedding. Doug’s Norwegian Heritage was very important to him and was evident in his noticeable accent and fluent ability to speak Norwegian. The University of Oslo made a video of him and several others in the Sunburg area while they were here studying the Norwegian language spoken by the local residents. He was thrilled while visiting Norway to be recognized by the local residents there that had seen the video. Doug took most pride in his family: children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Also, his sister, nephew and nieces. He greatly missed his grandson Aaren Alan Glesne.
Doug is survived by his loving companion, Ardis Knight, daughter Sheila (Dean) Rasmusson, son Keith, son Kent (special friend Trisha Martinell) and daughter Dawn (Eric) Daniel. Grandchildren Sarah, Danielle, Shawn, Shelby, Taylor, Brandon, Megan, Evan, Andrea, Hannah and Hailey, and 17 great grandchildren. Sister Marilyn Young, one nephew and four nieces, several great nephews, great nieces and cousins. He is also survived by Ardis’s children, Brian, Kevin (Nancy), Brad (Nicole), and her grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents Clarence and Thelma, Grandson Aaren Alan Glesne and Brother-in-law Dale Young.