Roger Warren Strand

 

Dr. Roger Warren Strand passed away peacefully, on Tuesday June 6th, at Bethesda North Pointe, New London, Minnesota. Roger was born in St. Paul, Minnesota March 23rd, 1936, and raised in Minneapolis. He spent summers at(in) Green Lake in Kandiyohi County. Roger graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1953 and was inducted into the Roosevelt Alumni Hall of Fame in 2022. He graduated from Macalester College in 1957, and was awarded a Distinguished Alumni Citation. After graduating from the University of Minnesota Medical School with an MD, he served his compulsory military service on the Rocky Boy Reservation in Montana as a medical doctor with the US Army. He continued his medical education at the University of Minnesota, becoming a surgeon, and later at Kleiner Kutz Hand Care Center in Louisville, Kentucky, receiving specialized training in hand surgery. Roger had a reputation of being a kind, compassionate, and skilled physician in his practice of medicine in Willmar for 30 years. Roger married Kay Lundsten, the love of his life, in Buffalo, Minnesota in 1961, and raised his family in Plymouth, Willmar, and New London.

It is difficult to overstate Roger’s impact on the communities in which he lived, and on the lives of all those he touched, as well as his commitment to conservation, community foundations, progressive causes, medicine, as well as the many other noble causes he supported. In addition to being a major force advancing anything he put his mind to, Roger Strand was one of the most humble, kind, caring, intelligent, creative, generous, and talented people any of us will ever know.

Roger was a passionate duck/deer hunter, fly/bass fisherman, paddler of the lakes and rivers of the north (staunch supporter of protecting the BWCA!), a true legend of raising wood ducks in boxes (best practices), as well as a lover of music, art, and literature. What Roger, a born teacher, loved most was teaching children and young people about the importance of conserving our wildlife and wild places.

In his college years, he worked at (and later generously contributed to) YMCA camp Menogyn, as a canoe guide, showing young people the majesty of the BWCA, and serving as a trusted mentor along the way. He was the recipient of countless awards for his work in conservation, and support for community foundations, from groups such as the Isaac Walton League, the Minnesota Waterfowl Association, the Willmar Area Community Foundation, as well as many others. One of Roger’s proudest accomplishments was the creation of Prairie Pothole Day, hosting it annually for 40 years.

Roger was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Kay, in 2020, for whom he served as devoted caregiver for her last 10 years of life. Also preceding him in death were his father Orrin Strand, mother Eleanor (De La Hunt) Strand, brother Richard Strand, and sister Karen Westby. He is survived by children, Mary Strand, Roger (Malcom) Strand (Jaime), Katherine Broze (David), and Robert Strand (partner Shannon Hess), grandchildren, Jayne Cole, Kayte Cole, and Christopher Broze, sister, Mary Davies, and brother-in-law, Loren Westby.

A community celebration of life for Roger will be held at Prairie Woods Environmental Learning Center on August 19th, at 1:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to Prairie Woods ELC.