Edward Arthur Hygnstrom

Edward Arthur Hygnstrom passed away peacefully on November 10, 2025 at Spring Valley Health and Rehabilitation Center after a three-year battle with lymphoma. Ed was a hard-working, devoted husband, father, family man, and friend who was widely respected and appreciated by all who knew him.

He was born on April 26, 1934 on a small family farm in the Rush River Valley near Maiden Rock, Wisconsin. Ed was the last of four children born to Arthur and Celene Hygnstrom. He worked on several neighboring farms before and after graduating from Maiden Rock High School in 1951. He enlisted in the US Air Force in 1952 and was honorably discharged in 1956 after earning the rank of Staff Sergeant. Ed was a radio operator in the nation’s Airborne Early Warning and Control System in California and Alaska. He also served on a rescue boat in the Azores near Portugal from which he availed many with stories of his McHale’s Navy-like experiences. Upon returning home, he laid down miles hauling milk, touring on his Indian motorcycle, and roller skating. It was on the rinks that he met the love of his life, Delores (Simonson) Hygnstrom. They were married on July 13, 1957 at the United Lutheran Church in Red Wing, Minnesota. Their union was blessed by two children, Scott and Dawn Hygnstrom, whom they cared for and loved dearly. They made their first home in Hager City, Wisconsin, where Dee worked as a stay-at-home mother. Ed worked at the Red Wing Shoe Company for 38 years as a warehouse laborer and foreman, then foreman of the hazardous materials program and the over-the-road trucking fleet. Twice, he and his drivers received the Annual Safety Award from the National Association of Independent Truckers, each for over 1 million miles of accident-free driving. On the side, he hauled milk, painted trailers, scrapped metal, plowed snow, dug Indian potatoes, sold firewood and fenceposts, and farmed to make ends meet.

In his free time, Ed served as a Scoutmaster for Troop 35, helped family and friends with innumerable odd jobs, and led the family on regular weekend camping and fishing trips. Ever industrious and mechanically inclined, Ed built trailers, campers, snow plows, and buzz rigs; rebuilt engines and transmissions; and repaired and maintained all forms of farming and industrial equipment. He also built their second home on the farm where he was born in the late 1970s, handling everything from framing, roofing, plumbing, and electrical work, to finish carpentry. Ed enjoyed playing cards, especially euchre and 500 with several friends at local card parties. He enjoyed reading, especially westerns, and polished off both sets of Zane Gray and Louis L’Amour novels. He was part of Wisconsin’s Orange Army and shared opening day of the deer season with his son Scott for 53 years in a row. He notched his trusty Mossberg 500 73 times and displayed two 170-inch bucks on his basement wall. Ed boiled down hundreds of gallons of sap to produce maple syrup in the woods with his nephew Richard Clifford, of which much was gifted to friends and family. Ed also was a productive and generous gardener, giving buckets of fresh tomatoes, potatoes, corn, beans, squash, peppers, melons, strawberries, and other produce to mail carriers, neighbors, family, friends, and other visitors. Ed and Dee also generously donated to the United Lutheran Church and Spring Valley Health and Rehabilitation Center, where Dawn has been a resident for 28 years.

At 91 years old, Ed outlived most of his friends and referred to himself as “the old man of the valley.” Ed was preceded in death by his parents Arthur and Celene Hygnstrom, wife Delores Hygnstrom, sister Marion Roper, brother Andrew Hygnstrom, and several other family members, in-laws, co-workers, and friends. He will be missed by his sister Audrey Laue of Balsam Lake, Wisconsin, son Scott (Jan) Hygnstrom of Park Falls, Wisconsin, daughter Dawn Hygnstrom of Spring Valley, Wisconsin, and several living nieces, nephews, extended family members, neighbors, and friends. We thank the many staff members of Spring Valley Health and Rehabilitation Center, especially Kevin Larson and Shannon Kasten, who provided care for Ed, Dee, and Dawn during their years of life. We also thank Richard Clifford, Michael Kane, Denise Fiala Clay, Alan Long, Lauran Larson, and Conrad Christiansen, who shared time with Ed and made his days brighter. At Ed’s request, burial and a small family gathering will be conducted at Oakwood Cemetery in Red Wing, Minnesota, where his ashes will be laid beside those of his beloved Delores and other family members. Arrangements are entrusted to Mahn Funeral Home in Red Wing, Minnesota. In lieu of flowers and other memorials, donations to the United Lutheran Church and Spring Valley Health and Rehabilitation Center are preferred.