Warren William Will

Warren William Will, of Jordan, passed away on January 1, 2025 at the age of 85. He was surrounded by his loving family. 

A visitation will be held on Friday, January 10, 2025 from 4:00 - 7:00 PM at Ballard-Sunder Funeral & Cremation (104 First Street West) in Jordan. A Christian Funeral will be held on Saturday, January 11, 2025 at 11:00 AM with visitation one-hour prior at Immanuel Lutheran Church on Fish Lake (20200 Fairlawn Avenue) in Prior Lake. Rev. Dr. Brent Parrish will preside, and Warren will be laid to rest at Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred and will be distributed by Warren's family in his honor. 

Warren William Will was born February 3, 1939, and lived in Hamburg, Minnesota. At age 14, he moved to Jordan to live with his uncle and aunt, Roland and Olga Nachbar. The Nachbars did not have any children and he helped at their business, the Jordan Hatchery.

As a youth, Warren enjoyed playing basketball and baseball. Before coming to Jordan, he played baseball on the Hamburg town team – the Hawks – at the age of 13. He was a top-notch athlete in high school and held a high score game record in basketball that was unbroken for over 35 years. Towards the end of high school, Warren was invited to try out for the Los Angeles Dodgers but had to turn it down.

While attending Jordan High School, Warren met Barbara Jean Snell, an underclassman at Jordan High. They were married in May of 1959 and started a family shortly thereafter. 

To provide for his family, Warren started his own business delivering meat from Langer’s Meat Market and Pekarna’s Meat Market in Jordan to nearby towns. His “delivery truck” was the family’s 1961 Chevrolet station wagon. 

After a few years, he was in need of a bigger truck with a refrigerated box. The truck had an orange cab and our family lovingly called it “the orange bomb”. As a result, he was able to haul more product to a larger area and his business began to prosper. This truck would eventually become known as “Will’s Wurst Wagon. 

He continued to play baseball with the Jordan Brewers as a shortstop. His baseball career ended when he was hit during a Brewer’s game and ended up with a concussion. He still owed $5000 on the orange bomb when he made the decision to quit because he couldn’t afford to be laid up. A lot of people were upset about him quitting the Brewer’s. He told them if they wanted to pay off his truck he’d keep playing. There were no takers.

Continuing to be a good provider for his family, Warren started a little band called the Wurstmen. One night they were playing in Young America and a local band leader, Wally Pikal, asked him if he’d be interested in playing with his group. Warren became the tuba player for “Wally Pikal and the Dill Pickles” and was a member for 12 years. 

In the early years when the kids were small, he spent a lot of weekend nights away from home playing in the band. It was an important supplemental source of income because he could make an extra $20 a night playing in the band. 

As his two sons grew older, they joined the business which became known as W. W. Will & Sons and another “Wurst Wagon” was added. Eventually, other brands of sausage and lunchmeat were brought in, as well as butter and cheese from Bongard’s Creamery and seasonal items like herring and oysters. The business could no longer be contained to Warren and Barb’s residence. To accommodate the growth, a small warehouse in downtown Jordan was purchased. The business continued to prosper and Warren, Jeff and Tim decided to trademark their own brand. They trademarked Sportsman Brand Meats which included sausage, wieners and luncheon meats. Soon the business outgrew that location and a bigger headquarters was needed. A decision was made to purchase land and build a warehouse in the Jordan Industrial Park. Warren retired from W. W. Will & Sons in 2002 and the company continues to flourish under the management of sons, Jeff and Tim.

Warren also served on the Jordan City Council for over 10 years. He was known to be outspoken during his years on the council. He approached that job the same way he approached his business: If there is a job to do, you had better be there on time and get it done.

In retirement, Warren and Barb enjoyed time in Florida and many years at their lake home in Hackensack, Minnesota. 

Warren also continued to hunt and fish. Hunting trips often consisted of many generations including his sons, grandsons, brothers, brothers-in-law, and nephews. He taught us all the importance of sportsmanship and conservation.

Warren is survived by his wife of 65 years, Barb Will; children, Jeff Will, Tim (Donna) Will, Nancy (Frank) Kipp; grandchildren, Joe (Heather Heisse) Will, Sarah (Justin) Reinke, Michael (Trisha) Will, Samantha (Brian) Amble, Will (Ava Wermerskirchen) Stevenson; great-grandchildren, Nora Reinke, Waylon Will, Ames Reinke, and baby girl Will arriving in February; brother, Doug (Donna) Will; brother-in-law, Ernie Breyer; sister-in-law, Doris Will.

Greeting Warren home in Heaven are his parents, Oscar and Lorna Will; siblings, Marlene Graupman, Diane Breyer, Darryl Will and Sandy (Bob) Herman.