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Francis Stephen Wilder
Francis Stephen Wilder age 94 of Wells, MN died Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020 at Parkview Center in Wells, MN of natural causes. Present with him were his wife, Geraldine and daughter and son-in-law Kathryn and Matthew Mellen. Funeral services to be held at a later date . Please see www.brussheitner.com to leave online condolences. Bruss-Heitner Funeral Home in Wells, MN is in charge of arrangements.
Fran was born April 30, 1926 on a farm southeast of Wells, in Freeborn County. His parents were Loretta (Hennessey) and William Wilder. He was the second oldest of six children. Fran graduated from Wells High School in 1943. He was inducted into the Marine Corp on Dec. 6, 1943 in St. Paul, MN. Corporal Wilder attended Cooks & Bakers school in the Marines and was sent to the Pacific and fought in the Battle of Iwo Jima from Feb. through Mar. 1945. He was Honorably Discharged on May 30, 1946.
Fran married Dona Marie Fisher on Feb. 10, 1947 and had seven children (Steve, Bill, Lori, Mike, Emilie, Ruth, Kathryn) and later divorced. Fran then married Erma Ott in Jan. 1973. After Erma’s death in 1979 he married Geraldine Fritz on Sept. 26, 1981 in Faribault, MN.
Fran worked many jobs in his life including butcher, carpenter, and baker. He opened Fran’s Bakery in Nov. 1964 and also owned and operated the Corner Café until he sold the building. A new bakery building was built and he ran the bakery until Nov. 1992 when he sold it. He then worked for Jim Sorom as a carpenter until Jim’s retirement. Fran then worked for USC schools as a bus stop monitor greeting students as they arrived to school in the morning and seeing them onto the buses at the end of the day. Declining health finally had him discontinue working in 2014.
Fran was a proud member of the American Legion and active as a coach and umpire in the American Legion baseball program. He actively promoted the Wells Historical Society and enjoyed fishing, golfing and bowling.
Fran was preceded in death by his parents, siblings Jeanne (Robert) Enderson, Terry (Lois) Wilder, Billy Wilder, Alys Smith, Noni (Jim) Clark; grandson William Mellen; step-children Jackie Fritz and David Fritz.
He is survived by his wife of 39 years, Geraldine of Wells, MN, children Stephen (Susan) Wilder of Willow, NY, Bill (Susan) Wilder of Warren, AR, Lori (Lynn) Williams of Dayton, TX, Mike (Susan) Wilder of Jacksonville, AR, Emilie Stenzel of Mankato, MN, Ruth (Carl) Hansen of Hartland, WI, Kathryn (Matt) Mellen of South St. Paul, MN, step-daughter Lola (Ron) Van Erp of Faribault, MN, 15 grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren, brother-in-law David Smith, and many nieces and nephews.
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As I pause to reflect on Fran’s life, I will always cherish the many times we shared coffee time together, and the walking history book Fran was! He was always grace filled and I enjoyed his smile. I will cherish his memory!
Thoughts and prayers for his family.
I enjoyed going to bingo with my mother( Yvonne Yokiel) when he was a bingo caller. Celebrate his life.
Best baker in the world. My dad enjoyed working for him.
I was saddened to hear of Fran’s passing. I enjoyed working with him at USC! He was a special man to many of the students. Sincerest sympathy to the family.
Rest In Peace Fran W.sympathy to your family.
Remembrance of a wonderful man. Worked for him many years and he was such a great boss. Prayers, sympathies and blessings for the family!!!
Thinking of all of the Wilders during this difficult time and sending my sympathies. When I’d see Frannie around town, he always remembered me as Sylvia’s niece, and that always brought back warm memories with Lori, Emilie, Ruth & Kathryn. But in more recent times, we had our own connection. When I visited at Parkview, I often stopped in to visit with him and Geri, or at least we gave each other a big wave. I’ll miss him! Prayers of comfort and peace for you all.
Sorry to hear of Franny’s passing he’ll be missed Sue Wegner
Our condolences on your loss. Fran and family lived next door to us as we were growing up. Fran was an alter boy at my parents’ wedding, and present to toast them at their 50th wedding celebration also. He was a dear friend to my parents and us, a super boss to my Mother who worked in his bakery, and will be missed. Our thoughts are with you Gerri and family.
Fran was an important and loved member of the Wells Historical Society. When we didn’t know something about Wells history, the automatic thought was – Let’s ask Fran. He will know! He enjoyed volunteering and chatting with visitors at the depot. If there were no visitors, he would comb through the books in our library section. “I’ve been studying up,” he would say. We are certainly going to miss him. Our sincere sympathies to the Wilder families.
I can see Mom and Franny in heaven talking about the bakery.
On Mom’s 95th BD party, Franny told us his secret to making good Mocha cakes.
Hugs and prayers to all you kids and Geri.
I will miss him
Irene (Novak) Gumm
Sincere sympathies being sent to all of the Wilder family. Fran was a great man and will be missed by many!
Our sincere sympathy to the Wilder families
Fran was a great man. I enjoyed working with him for several years for Bingo at Wells Legion. he was a wonderful man. My Sympathy to Geraldine and his children. He will be missed in our Wells community.
So sad to hear the news of Fran’s passing. He was a wonderful addition to the USC Family. I truly enjoyed getting to know him and working with him. My sympathy to Fran’s family.
Gerri, so sad to hear of Fran’s passing but know you had a two had a happy life together . My prayers are with you.
I am so sorry to hear of Fran’s death. I have countless memories of living next door to Fran and his family, the bakery years and the visits with him and Geri at Parkview. I’ll always be thankful for his friendship to my parents and the fond memories of growing up with his children. My sincere condolences to Geri, Bill and all of his brothers and sisters.
Great Historian, kind fun Baker, and a long time family of Wells, Mn
For the short 9 years I lived in Wells Fran became a symbol to me of what Minnesotans really are. Caring, loving, interested in others , ready to lend a helping hand, or just being the one who had so much knowledge about Wells and it’s history that he was a lot of fun to be around. I know that he will be missed by many and remembered by more. God bless the family and may God comfort you with His Grace.
My sincere condolences to the Wilder family.
SEMPER FI MARINE
R.I.P. 🇺🇸
Condolences to Gerri and all the Wilder cousins. My sons and I absolutely loved Uncle Franny’s sharp sense of humor. We still laugh at the memory of him peppering the tour guide at the Coors beer factory with all sorts of questions about Minnesota beers til the flustered gal just sent us off to the tasting room. We recall him playing checkers against grand-nieces and -nephews, baiting them into believing they had a chance to win. Glad to have visited last year. Will be thinking of you all.
Well done Marine🇺🇸
Semper Fi
Thank you so much Paul for being a part of his life long distance. I wish you could have met him. He would have had stories to tell you!
My deepest sympathy to the family.
You’re all in my thoughts and prayers!! I loved caring for your dad!! I tried really hard to get his secret recipe for his pull apart buns. He’d always smile and tell me, “oh, I’ll maybe tell you someday” , then we’d continue talking about all the other yummy things he made. ❤️