Kenneth H. Holmgren

Kenneth H. Holmgren, age 86 of Glenwood, died Wednesday, January 7, 2026 at the Glacial Ridge Hospital in Glenwood. A memorial service celebrating his life will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 17th at Glenwood Lutheran Church with Rev. Krista Lee officiating. The service will be livestreamed at glenwoodlutheran.com. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church. Inurnment will be in the Glenwood Lutheran Cemetery. Arrangements are with the Hoplin-Hitchcock Funeral Home. Memorials may be directed to Glacial Ridge Hospice, 10 4th Ave SE, Glenwood, MN 56334. 

Kenneth Herbert Holmgren, the son of Herbert Holmgren and Evelyn (Anderson) Holmgren was born on February 13, 1939, in Little Falls, MN. He was the third of five children and grew up in Upsala MN. He attended Upsala Covenant Church where he was baptized on November 2, 1947, and later confirmed. He graduated from Upsala High School in 1957, and from Saint Cloud Teachers College with a BS in Elementary Education in 1962.

He was united in marriage to Ruth Naomi Lunder on November 24, 1962, at Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Upsala. He taught from 1962-1964 in Canby MN, where their first child, Scott, was born. They moved to Glenwood where he taught for 32 years, from 1964-1996; there they were joined by their two other children Steven and Stephanie. He also spent 45+ summers painting.

Ken was active in the life of Glenwood Lutheran Church, serving on the Board of Deacons, the Youth Board, Board of Education, as Sunday School Superintendent and the Ushers group. He was a Waterama volunteer and continued his commitment to supporting and educating kids even after retirement by serving as a mentor for area youth. During his many years of teaching, he was greatly appreciated by his students and was also known for pranks and jokes with his fellow staff.

He loved spending time outdoors - fishing, hunting (deer and ducks), maple syruping, walking in the outdoors, and working in the woods with his girlfriend Allis (his Allis Chalmers tractor). He loved reading, traveling, woodworking, and storytelling. In their retirement, he and Naomi enjoyed wintering in Wickenburg Arizona for 17 years. They traveled around the US, as well as Sweden, Norway, Germany and France. He could start up a conversation with anybody, no matter where he went.

Ken was very proud of being 100% Swedish and had lutefisk every Christmas. He had special nicknames for his children and his wife, whether they liked them or not. He made special wooden rocking horses and other treasures for all of his grandchildren. He was a loving and kind husband, father, relative, friend and teacher.

He is survived by his wife Naomi, sons Scott Holmgren, Steven (Mary) Holmgren, daughter Stephanie (Charles) Swanson, and grandchildren Ben (Noelle) Holmgren, Isaac Holmgren, Sophia Swanson, Sadie Swanson and sister Sandra (James) Stamson, sister-in-law Helen (Phil) Sundquist, and nephews and nieces.

He is preceded in death by his parents, his sister Beatrice Holmgren, and his brothers Wayne Holmgren (infant) and Dwight Holmgren.

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