Stanley R. Oian

July 1st, 1931 – March 1st, 2017

Stanley Oian was born on a farm just outside Bratsberg, Minnesota to Marie Westby and Gerhard Oian. He was their only child. His mother Marie died of cancer when he was 6, and Stanley grew up in an assortment of homes in the Filmore County area. One constant presence was his grandmother Gunhild Oian, who helped care for him until he graduated high school and was sent off to South Saint Paul, Minnesota to work at the Swifts packing plant.

Stanley shipped off to Korea in December, 1952, where he served in the artillery until April 1954. He sustained lifelong hearing loss while in Korea. Had he worn his ear protection, he said he wouldn’t have been able to hear the order to fire. November 21st, 1952, before shipping out, he married Janet Ferden. They kept their marriage a secret because Janet was in nursing school and would have been expelled had it become known she was married. When Stanley came back from Korea they announced the marriage that had taken place nearly 2 years previous, and patiently waited to conceive their first child Marie, in order to avoid gossip. They were blessed with two additional daughters, Sandra and Karen.

In 1969, when the Swifts plant closed, Stanley and Janet sold their house and moved to Moorhead Minnesota where they bought and ran the Belmont Motel, a mom and pop type business located next to the Sunset Lanes on Highway 75. After selling the motel Stanley worked in the Air National Guard. When they decommissioned the bombs he had been guarding, he found a job as a security guard for Steiger Tractor, a job which required an EMT certificate, which Stanley studied hard for, and earned.

Stanley belonged to the Kaposia Camera Club in South St. Paul, and had a lifelong enjoyment of photography, art, music, and his daily can of Pepsi. For many years he enjoyed camping with his family. From tent, to Travel-All, then a Bethany trailer, a Tow-Low, and finally a Winnebago. After many road trips and time spent at Beaver Creek State Park, he and Janet bought a lake cabin on Munson Lake, after a few years they bought a larger cabin on Lake Lida, which they enjoyed for many years, before moving to their retirement home on Dead Lake, near Dent Minnesota.

Stanley joined the Perham Area Cruisers car club and bought a trophy winning 1939 Packard and a 1961 Thunderbird, which he took to car shows. Stanley was an expert at mowing a lawn with his trusty John Deere tractor and occasionally mowed lawns for others. The sound of the lawn mower masked the tinnitus he suffered from, since Korea. A diagnosis of dementia in 2012 prompted a move from his lake home to the city of Moorhead, to be nearer medical and support services.

Preceding Stanley in death are his parents Marie Westby Oian, and Gerhard Oian and stepmother Geneva Smaby Oian. Stanley is survived by wife Janet Ferden Oian, daughters Marie Larson Gary, Sandra Thomas Glenn, and Karen Nelson Jim and grandchildren Rachel Mertz Rodriguez Jose, Dave Mertz, Andy Nelson, Taylor Nelson and Mabel Thomas.

The family would like to thank the countless caregivers provided through Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota and the kind staff at the VA and Rosewood on Broadway.

Memorials preferred to Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota.

Memorial gathering will be from noon – 1:00 p.m., followed by the memorial service at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 25, in Wright Funeral Home, Moorhead, MN. A service will also be held at Highland Prairie Lutheran Church on April 29th.