Darwin Arthur Nordquist

Darwin Arthur Nordquist passed away peacefully on Sunday October 27, 2024, with his family by his side. He was 92 years old.

Darwin was born to Arthur and Ina Nordquist on March 16, 1932, in St. Cloud, Minnesota. It was on the lakes of Minnesota that Darwin became an outdoorsman and learned to love hunting and fishing, hobbies he continued his entire life. He also loved boating and water skiing. When he was 8 years old his parents purchased a little slice of paradise on Big Watab Lake in St. Joseph, Minnesota where most of the fishing and skiing took place. He skied slalom until he was 85 years old and the doctor told him to stop. Almost all of the Nordquist family vacations were spent enjoying Big Watab Lake. In a paper Darwin wrote on October 9, 1950, he stated another special place to him was the gym. He competed in the Mr. Minnesota body building competition and got third place. One of the judges told him that he probably would have won had he shaved and oiled his body, but he refused to. He loved all sports and as an adult was an avid racquetball player. As in every other thing he had done, he was very competitive. Even in spirited card games such as his favorite, up the river down the river.

Darwin enlisted in the Army during the Korean Conflict and was stationed stateside, because of his flat feet, at Fort Leonard Wood in St. Louis, Missouri. It was in St. Louis, at a USO dance that he met the love of his life Marilyn Jean Van Nest. They married in St. Louis on July 3, 1954. Shortly after they moved to Minneapolis where Duane and Kay were born. They moved to Omaha, Nebraska because of Darwin’s job with Economics Laboratory. In Nebraska their daughter Susan was born. Years later a job promotion took the family to West Des Moines, Iowa. Darwin stayed at Ecolab until he retired in 1994. He loved his 35 years with Ecolab and used to joke about how he was sleeping with his secretary, his wife, until the company put an end to wives being secretaries. He met lifelong friends while working and looked forward to the reunions.

Not many people get to spend 30 years retired. Not many people stay married for 70 years. Not many kids get to have both parents until they are into their 60’s. Darwin always wanted to live until he was 100 years old. He almost made it.

Darwin is survived by his wife Marilyn; his children Duane (Eileen) Nordquist, Kay (Steve) Klemp, and Susan (Dan) Duve: his grandchildren David (Cheyenne) Nordquist, Heather (Caleb) Schnathorst, Holly (Aaron) Smith, Caitlin (B) Krater, Grace Nordquist, Danny Nordquist, Cali (Kiel Reynolds) Duve, Lexi Duve, and DJ Duve; great-grandchildren Lorelei Nordquist, Josephine Nordquist, Edith Ina Nordquist, Elias Dominguez, Ian Dominguez, Gideon Schnathorst, Kamil Krater, and Arlen Krater; and his sister Lu Gerads.

He was greeted in heaven by his parents and many friends that he dearly missed. He loved all animals, and they loved him too. We all know that is a sign of a good soul. He always had at least one dog so there were many wagging tails greeting him as well.

Memorials can be directed to your church in honor of Darwin Nordquist since his church was so important to him.

The family would like to thank the staff at Morning Star who took such good care of Darwin and even brought his dog Sissy to visit him in the hospital before his passing. Also, the staff at Mercy Hospital were amazing taking care of Darwin in his final days and keeping him comfortable. They also treated his family with such care in our time of sorrow and loss.

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