Obituary for John Rolf "Jack" Tonneson
John Rolf Tonneson of Fridley passed away peacefully of heart failure on November 23, just days after turning 90 years old. Known as Jack to family and friends, he was born to Rolfe Godfrey and Edna Caroline (Wright) Tonneson in Fargo, North Dakota on November 15, 1930 and grew up in Mahnomen, Minnesota. Jack is survived by his wife of 62 years Betty Lucille (Irwin) Tonneson, his three children Thomas Rolf Tonneson, David Irwin Tonneson and Louise Catherine Tonneson Rodriguez, son-in-law Sergio Luis Rodriguez, granddaughters Gabrielle, Cecilia and Anneliese Rodriguez and Eva Tonneson and numerous nieces and nephews.
Jack attended Mahnomen High School, where he played football, ran track and excelled in math and science. He lived an idyllic small-town childhood, fishing in the summer and frequently helping out in his dad’s Main Street men’s clothing store. He was a comic book fan and had collected original Superman and Flash Gordon volumes. Jack was the grandson and great-grandson of Norwegian immigrants and was also a citizen of the White Earth Ojibwe Nation and counted among his ancestors Chief Bug-o-nay-ki-shig (Hole-in-the-Day) and Upper Mississippi fur trader William Alexander Aitken (for which Aitkin County is named).
At 17, Jack entered the College of St. Thomas in St. Paul then transferred to the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities to complete his B.S. in Medical Bacteriology. Swept up by WWII patriotism cultivated during his teen years, Jack joined the U.S. Army fresh out of college to fight in the Korean War. He and his best friend from Mahnomen attended basic training together then shipped off to Korea. While there, Jack reached the rank of Staff Sergeant, and served as both a military policeman and a medical technologist in the U.S. Army’s 115th medical battalion.
After the war, Jack continued his career as a medical technologist at the outpatient clinic of the VA Hospital at Fort Snelling. He met Betty, a smart, pretty executive secretary, and they married on Feb. 8, 1958 at St. Stephen’s Catholic Church in Minneapolis. Jack and Betty raised three children together in Minneapolis. Jack was a devoted husband, father and grandfather who was supremely kind, generous and deeply faithful. Retiring early, Jack became a member of the Disabled American Veterans in the 1970s and served a term as commander of the Minneapolis Chapter. He frequently volunteered to place flags at veterans’ graves at Fort Snelling National Cemetery.
In his later years, Jack could often be found studying books on physics and history and taking long walks along his neighborhood’s Mississippi River trail. Jack loved sports and rarely missed a Gophers, Twins or Vikings game on TV with a good, cold beer in hand. He held a storehouse of facts in his head that could be recalled at any moment. A Civil War and WWII history enthusiast, Jack once questioned a Manassas Battlefield tour guide on a key battle detail and was humbly corrected, then later found to be right when the surprised park historian checked his reference.
Sharp, analytical and inquisitive to the end, Jack had just started Jon Meacham’s book The Soul of America, praising the author’s view on our hopeful future. At the close of the recent tumultuous election, Jack was relieved to know that the freedoms he fought for nearly 70 years ago will once again be safe in the hands of our “better angels.” His children were raised to be proud Americans and had been reminded time and again to exercise their precious right to vote, or risk losing it.
Jack was preceded in death by his parents Rolfe Godfrey and Caroline Edna Tonneson and sister Mae Elizabeth (Tonneson) O’Brien.
A private internment with honors will take place at Fort Snelling National Cemetery on December 2. Visitation (with COVID-19 protocols) is scheduled for December 1 from 4:00 to 7:00 PM at Gill Brothers, 5801 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis. A celebration of Jack’s life will be held at a later date. The family requests that donations be made to the Disabled American Veterans organization (dav.org).
Jack attended Mahnomen High School, where he played football, ran track and excelled in math and science. He lived an idyllic small-town childhood, fishing in the summer and frequently helping out in his dad’s Main Street men’s clothing store. He was a comic book fan and had collected original Superman and Flash Gordon volumes. Jack was the grandson and great-grandson of Norwegian immigrants and was also a citizen of the White Earth Ojibwe Nation and counted among his ancestors Chief Bug-o-nay-ki-shig (Hole-in-the-Day) and Upper Mississippi fur trader William Alexander Aitken (for which Aitkin County is named).
At 17, Jack entered the College of St. Thomas in St. Paul then transferred to the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities to complete his B.S. in Medical Bacteriology. Swept up by WWII patriotism cultivated during his teen years, Jack joined the U.S. Army fresh out of college to fight in the Korean War. He and his best friend from Mahnomen attended basic training together then shipped off to Korea. While there, Jack reached the rank of Staff Sergeant, and served as both a military policeman and a medical technologist in the U.S. Army’s 115th medical battalion.
After the war, Jack continued his career as a medical technologist at the outpatient clinic of the VA Hospital at Fort Snelling. He met Betty, a smart, pretty executive secretary, and they married on Feb. 8, 1958 at St. Stephen’s Catholic Church in Minneapolis. Jack and Betty raised three children together in Minneapolis. Jack was a devoted husband, father and grandfather who was supremely kind, generous and deeply faithful. Retiring early, Jack became a member of the Disabled American Veterans in the 1970s and served a term as commander of the Minneapolis Chapter. He frequently volunteered to place flags at veterans’ graves at Fort Snelling National Cemetery.
In his later years, Jack could often be found studying books on physics and history and taking long walks along his neighborhood’s Mississippi River trail. Jack loved sports and rarely missed a Gophers, Twins or Vikings game on TV with a good, cold beer in hand. He held a storehouse of facts in his head that could be recalled at any moment. A Civil War and WWII history enthusiast, Jack once questioned a Manassas Battlefield tour guide on a key battle detail and was humbly corrected, then later found to be right when the surprised park historian checked his reference.
Sharp, analytical and inquisitive to the end, Jack had just started Jon Meacham’s book The Soul of America, praising the author’s view on our hopeful future. At the close of the recent tumultuous election, Jack was relieved to know that the freedoms he fought for nearly 70 years ago will once again be safe in the hands of our “better angels.” His children were raised to be proud Americans and had been reminded time and again to exercise their precious right to vote, or risk losing it.
Jack was preceded in death by his parents Rolfe Godfrey and Caroline Edna Tonneson and sister Mae Elizabeth (Tonneson) O’Brien.
A private internment with honors will take place at Fort Snelling National Cemetery on December 2. Visitation (with COVID-19 protocols) is scheduled for December 1 from 4:00 to 7:00 PM at Gill Brothers, 5801 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis. A celebration of Jack’s life will be held at a later date. The family requests that donations be made to the Disabled American Veterans organization (dav.org).