Cover photo for Wallace Janssen's Obituary
Wallace Janssen Profile Photo
1938 Wallace 2016

Wallace Janssen

February 10, 1938 — August 9, 2016

Wallace V. Janssen, age 78, of Willmar, died Tuesday, Aug. 9th, at his home in Willmar.

Services will be held at 11 AM, Saturday, August 13, at Vinje Lutheran Church in Willmar, Minnesota. Friends may call 1 hour prior to the services at the church. Interment will be at 2 P.M., Monday, August 15, at the Hillside Cemetery in rural Merrill, Iowa. Arrangements are with Peterson Brothers Funeral Home in Willmar.
(www.petersonbrothers.com)

Wallace Vernon Janssen was born on February 10, 1938, in Plymouth County, Iowa, near Merrill, Iowa, the son of William Henry and Marie Johanna (Kock) Janssen. He moved to Willmar, Minnesota in 1948 with his family. He continued and completed his education there, graduating from Willmar High School in 1956. Wallace worked for a cable company in Willmar and Mankato and then for Great Northern Railroad before entering the armed forces. He joined the Air Force in 1959 and served until 1963, as an Airman First Class. During his time in the service he was a technician on the Atlas Missiles and served during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Wallace made his home in Atlanta, Georgia and worked as a private flight instructor. In 1965, Wallace went to work as a flight instructor for Delta Airlines and retired for Delta in 1996 as a pilot with the rank of Captain, flying MD-88 planes. Following his retirement he moved permanently to Willmar. Wallace loved to meet with family and friends for coffee at Dunn Brothers and enjoyed farming, photography, and researching his German ancestry.

He is survived by three siblings: Norman Janssen and special friend Ellie Frank of Cleveland, MN, Carolyn (and John) Swanson of Spicer, MN and William (and Janet) Janssen of Mankato. Also surviving is his godmother, Margaret Pecks of LeMars, Iowa, and many nieces, nephews and cousins in America and Germany, besides other relatives and friends.

Wallace was preceded in death by his parents.


Cemetery Details

Hillside Cemetery

Merrill, IA,

Visitation

AUG 13. 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Vinje Lutheran Church

1101 Willmar Avenue SW

Willmar, MN, US, 56201

http://www.vinjechurch.com

Celebration of Life

AUG 13. 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Vinje Lutheran Church

1101 Willmar Avenue SW

Willmar, MN, US, 56201

http://www.vinjechurch.com

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