Dwain Thomsen

Dwain was born on October 25, 1928 in Askov, MN and he graduated from Askov High School in 1946. At 17, Dwain enlisted in the US Army.  He served in Japan for his first tour of duty.  Upon his return home, Dwain met and married Louise Southerton on August 25, 1950, a courtship that lasted over 71 years. Dwain re-enlisted in September 1950 and was stationed in Korea until his honorable discharge in December 1951.

In September 1954, Dwain was accepted into the Postal Service and a long and decorated career began.  Over the next 3 decades, he and the family moved across the United States while Dwain accepted promotions and advancements.

Dwain retired from the Postal Inspection Service in 1979 and he and Louise built their retirement home on Little McDonald Lake in Perham, MN.  “Retirement” was a relative term for Dwain, who quickly dove into getting his Certified Managerial Accountant designation as well as his electricians license.   Dwain started an accounting firm, followed by a real estate company with good friends and in their spare time, he and Louise ‘flipped homes.’ By 1990 they lived in Vergas, MN and Marble Falls, TX until returning to Perham in August of 2016.

Dwain never missed a coffee break and was fond of saying, “if you miss a coffee-break you never get them back.”  This underscores his philosophy of making the most of every day and giving back at every chance he had.  He filled his days with family, friends, service to his country, Kiwanis, American Legion, as an American Red Cross 20-gallon blood donor.  In his younger days, he enjoyed playing golf, carving loons, and serving as an Elder and Sunday school teacher at Presbyterian Church of the Way in Shoreview, Mn.

He will be dearly missed by his family and friends. Preceding Dwain in death was his parents, Albert & Minnie; son, Mark; siblings: Thomas, Howard, Darrell, Robert and Nola.

Dwain is survived by his loving wife of 69 years, Louise; sons: John (Val) Thomsen of Braham, Paul (Laurie) Thomsen of Abilene, Texas and Joel (Sher) Thomsen of Fargo, North Dakota;13 grandchildren; 18 great-grandchildren; 3 great-great-grandchildren; siblings: Anita Nelson of Sandstone, Mona (Gerry) Knapp of Askov, Lavonne Schumm of Fargo, Janice Eklund of Sandstone and Arlin (Kathy) Thomsen of Fort Worth; many nieces, nephews, other relatives and a host of friends.

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