Albert Walen

Albert Lewis Walen, 78, passed away peacefully on Friday, March 19, 2010, at MeritCare Hospital Palliative Care Unit, Fargo, ND, with his loving wife and children at his side. Albert was born October 3, 1931, on the farmstead of his parents, Henry and Ellen (Westvig) Walen near Glenfield, ND. He was baptized and confirmed at Glenfield Lutheran Church. Albert graduated from Glenfield High School in 1949, and continued to work on his family farm until 1952. He then worked for the Great Northern Railroad for six months before moving to Fargo, ND. His first job in the FM area was with the Pioneer Coffee Company in Moorhead. On January 16, 1953, he married his high school sweetheart, Barbara Jean Midgley, at Trinity Lutheran Parsonage in Moorhead, MN. In April, 1953, he took a position at Northern Transit Company as a city bus driver. During the June 1957 tornado, he had to evacuate his bus passengers and himself to the safe shelter of a home in north Fargo. In April of 1958, he began his career in the parking lot business working for Marshall Sandison’s Welcome Parking System in Fargo, ND. In 1974, Albert purchased Welcome Parking Systems and created Walen Parking Systems which he continued to operate in downtown Fargo, until his retirement in 1993. Albert made many life-long friends during his years in the parking lot business. Albert is survived by his wife of 57 years, Barbara Jean Walen, Fargo, ND; three sons Darwin (Dana) Walen, Eugene OR; Michael and Lyle Walen, West Fargo ND; one daughter, Linda Walen, Edina, MN; granddaughters, Jessica Walen, Crystal Walen, Stacy Walen, Prairie (Jordan) Cogburn, Taylor Blakeway, Cassidy Blakeway Walen; and grandson, Gunnar Blakeway Walen; sister, Alice Briss, Cooperstown, ND; sisters-in-law, Doris and Donna Walen, both of Cooperstown, ND. Albert was preceded in death by his mother and father; sisters, Ella Briss and LaVina Klien; brothers, Harry Walen, August Walen, Maynard Walen and infant brother, Selmer Lewis Walen. Albert was a member of the Eagles Club for 25 years. Albert was also a member of the Sons of Norway Kringen Club for 32 years and served on the corporate board for three years. He spent many happy times dancing with his wife and socializing at the Sons of Norway. Albert loved camping and vacationing throughout the US and Canada with his family and visiting his son, Darwin, in Eugene, OR, and daughter, Linda, in Minneapolis, MN. He delighted in driving his 1931 Model A Ford, which he restored, in local parades with his grandchildren and wife as passengers. Funeral: Friday, March 26, 2010, 1:00 PM at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Fargo, ND. Visitation: Thursday, March 25, 2010 from 5:00 – 7:00 PM at Hanson-Runsvold Funeral Home, Fargo, ND, followed by a prayer service at 7:00 PM. Burial: Sunset Memorial Gardens, Fargo, ND.