John Nordaune was 77 years young when he passed away June 16, 2019, at Oak Terrace in Jordan, MN.
His Celebration of Life will be on Friday, June 21, 2019 at 11am, with a time of gathering starting at 9:30am at Ballard-Sunder Funeral and Cremation 4565 Pleasant Street SE, Prior Lake. Reverend Diana Hunstad will preside. Chad Nordaune and Josh Nordaune will act as urnbearers. Full military honors will be provided by the Prior Lake Veterans Honor Guard. A luncheon will follow at the Prior Lake VFW.
In Starbuck, MN, John Odell Nordaune was the third of four children born to Joseph and Hilma (Erickson) Nordaune. He was proud to be a brother to Janice, Sharon and Kenneth and enjoyed his years growing up in Starbuck. He and his sibling all contracted polio, but that diagnose did not deter any of them in their venture to lead full productive lives. In high school, he was active in baseball, softball and track. He was most proud of running a sub five-minute mile in track.
In 1969, following high school, he enlisted into the Air Force, where he was stationed in Key West, Florida. From there he spent most of his four years in Istanbul, Turkey, proudly serving his country.
Following the military, he moved back to Minnesota, where he worked for Northrup King, traveling the east coast selling seed packets. He then chose to stay in Minnesota and got a job at Anchor Glass. It was there where he met a co-worker named Sandy Larson. There friendship turned to dating and finally marriage, which took place on November 10, 1973 at Solar Lutheran Church in Webster, MN. From that union, came the birth of their two boys, Chad and Josh. Life was complete with the birth of their grandchildren, CJ, Gage and Morgan.
With the two boys, their life was always busy but found time to travel almost always with the kids. Their first big vacation was a delayed honeymoon, spending three weeks in Germany. Many domestic trips followed, including Keystone, Mt. Rushmore and later La Jolla, California where they rented a condo overlooking the ocean. This was a very special place where many of their family and friends would visit.
In 1985, they bought their house in Prior Lake, which became their permanent home. During this time, he continued working at Anchor Glass and retired after 26 years. Being a hard worker, he also worked at Mystic Lake as a black jack dealer for 18 years.
John’s passion was horse racing, where he spent countless hours studying the horses and who he should bet on. He also loved the Twins, Vikings, College basketball, poker with friends, Nordaune family reunions and visiting family on Lake Minnewaska in Starbuck, where you might see him in crew socks and sandals. And boy, did he like country music!
For the last 10 years, John had many health issues. Through it all, he tried to live life to the fullest, but on June 16, 2019, this generous, stubborn man known as “honest John” succumbed to God’s calling.
He will be forever loved and missed by his wife, Sandy Nordaune; sons, Chad Nordaune, Josh (Stacy Brantl) Nordaune; grandchildren, CJ Nordaune, Gage Nordaune, Morgan Nordaune; siblings, Sharon Makay, Kenneth (Vivian) Nordaune and other loving relatives and friends. John was preceded in death by his parents, Joseph and Hilma (Erickson) Nordaune; sister, Janice (John) Foster.
John’s family was cared for with compassion by Ballard-Sunder Funeral and Cremation, Prior Lake chapel.
