Obituary of Charles William Gunness

Charles William Gunness, a good and faithful servant, passed away in Plymouth, MN on April 27, 2023 at age 84. 

Chuck was born in Fargo, ND on December 4, 1938 to John and Ulrica (Bjorke) Gunness. He grew up in Abercrombie, ND, a village of 250 people, where his father and uncle owned the blacksmith shop, the Standard Oil station, and the Chevrolet dealership. His lifelong love of words and journalism blossomed early. At age 12, he established a town newspaper, The Star, printed with a Swiftset printing kit and sold for 2 cents.

Chuck graduated from Oak Grove Lutheran High School, and earned a B.S in Education from the University of North Dakota and an M.S. in Education from Moorhead State University. He served in the North Dakota Air National Guard. He enjoyed a 37 year career as an English teacher, 30 of them in St. Louis Park, where he was an active leader in the teacher’s union and earned multiple awards for its newsletter.

Charles fed his soul with family, conversation and music. He was a tenor soloist with the Oak Knoll Lutheran Church choir for over 50 years; he also served several terms as the congregation’s president.

Charles is survived by his wife of 60 years, MaryAlyce (Olson) Gunness; two daughters, Cheryl and Julie; three grandchildren; and sisters Dorothy Lindsay (Kent) and Cynthia Fuller (Larry). He was preceded in death by two brothers: John of Abercrombie, ND and Richard of Green Valley, AZ.

Sincere thanks to the staff of Brookdale Plymouth Memory Care and Hospice for their expert care, compassion, dedication and professionalism.

A service will be held at Oak Knoll Lutheran Church (Minnetonka) on June 5, 2023, with visitation at 10:00am and service at 11:00am. Livestream available on the church YouTube channel. In lieu of flowers, memorials preferred to Oak Knoll Lutheran Church columbarium or Alzheimer’s Association.