Wayne E. Weidner

Wayne Eugene Weidner, 92, of Randolph Township, Minnesota, died July 4, 2026, in Hastings, Minnesota.

Wayne was born April 9, 1934, in Marshalltown, Iowa, the son of John "Adolph" Weidner and Rena May (Alden) Weidner. He was raised in Gilman, Iowa, which he always considered his hometown. At age 16 he moved with his parents to State Center, Iowa, and then to Marshalltown, where he graduated from Marshalltown High School in 1952.

Shortly after graduation, Wayne enlisted in the United States Air Force, serving from 1952 to 1956 as an air traffic controller at Harlingen Air Force Base, Texas, and RAF Shepherds Grove, England. In 1957 he was hired by the Civil Aeronautics Administration - the forerunner of the Federal Aviation Administration - at the Indianapolis Air Route Traffic Control Center in Indianapolis, Indiana. In 1962 he transferred to the Minneapolis Air Route Traffic Control Center in Farmington, Minnesota, where he served until his retirement in 1989, completing more than three decades as an air traffic controller. In retirement, he continued to shape the next generation of controllers as a training instructor with SRSA and the Mid-America Aviation Resource Consortium (MARC) air traffic control training program in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

Wayne met Carolyn Swanson, daughter of Carl and Mildred (Anderson) Swanson, shortly after moving to Minnesota, and they were married May 27, 1967, in Duluth, Minnesota. They made their home on Lake Byllesby in the house he built in 1965. He very much enjoyed living on the lake and stayed there until his final days.

Wayne enjoyed all things aviation. A private pilot, he logged hundreds of hours over the course of his life. He also enjoyed working on one project or another around the house and by the lake. But more than anything, Wayne enjoyed spending time with his family, talking, and regaling them with stories from his life.

Wayne is survived by his wife of 59 years, Carolyn; his two sons, Steve Weidner and his wife Tracy (Hartley) and Kurt Weidner and his wife Katie (Stock), both of Randolph; five grandchildren, Paul (Olivia) Weidner, Anna (Colin) Luz (children of Steve and Tracy), Ashleigh (Marty) Evans, Drew (Makayla) Weidner, and Alexander John "AJ" Weidner (children of Kurt and Katie); and five great-grandchildren, Brooks and Palmer (children of Paul and Olivia), Malia (daughter of Anna and Colin), and Findley and Greta (children of Ashleigh and Marty).

He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Marjorie.

Wayne was cremated and a remembrance gathering will be held at St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Randolph on July 24. Gathering times to follow. Interment of ashes will be at Lakeside Cemetery, Randolph, Minnesota.