Obituary of Bradley Hietanen

Brad Hietanen, 64 of Buffalo, passed away on Friday, November 6th after an eight-year battle with Multiple Myeloma. Preceded in death by his parents, Gloria and Kenneth Hietanen. Survived by wife, Jeannie and their son, Tyler. He leaves behind his brothers, Craig (Karen) and Troy (Jennifer) and Brad’s nieces/nephews Kari, Missy (Oleg) and Alec. He is also survived by many brother-in-laws and sister in-laws, nieces and nephews, great-nieces and nephews, relatives and dear friends.

 Brad was born in Minneapolis, was a Wayzata graduate, and was raised a West Medicine Lake die-hard. He grew up playing in a band with his friends and had a passion for cars. Brad traveled by motorcycle to 49 states and most of the provinces in Canada. He never once traveled by plane, but instead preferred to travel across the country by motorcycle and trailer, spending nights camping in the most beautiful places. A good day for Brad was catching fish on the boat, listening to tunes and enjoying life to the fullest.

 Brad took pride in gardening and landscaping and creating his own little vista at home. He spent many hours sitting by a campfire overlooking the lake. He enjoyed the company of friends and family, loved having people over for fondue and having good conversations. He was a kind soul, determined to make friends with everyone. He was the life of the party, loved to laugh, and was the “first to arrive and the last to leave.”

 He wrote in his own words: “Thank you to my wife Jeannie for taking such good care of me and allowing me to operate Preferred Printing and follow my dreams. We sure had some good times, look at what we did in life.”

He wanted to thank all of the people who were kind and helped him along the way. He asked that we all show each other respect and kindness and not to dwell on how he passed but instead on how he lived. Due to COVID, a celebration of life is pending.