'There is no one like him'

Urbank man loved fixing cars, strumming a guitar, and making people smile

By Julie Parent

Editor's Note: Just weeks after the interview with Willis Nordlund for this story, he passed away on May 15, 2026, at the age of 95 with loved ones by his side. 

Willis Nordlund of Urbank loved music.  Here he is with a steel guitar a decade or two ago. Contributed photo

Like his parents, Willis Nordlund of Parkers Prairie, Minn. has been blessed with longevity.

The 95-year-old was born in a log house on Inspiration Peak in Otter Tail County on March 3, 1931. At that time, people in the United States were feeling the effects of the Great Depression. However, Willis said he “never paid no attention to the depression” because it didn’t make any difference to him.

The log home did not have electricity or an indoor bathroom. It was heated with wood. Eventually, his father Roy acquired more land and got chickens, cows, and pigs to feed his family. Since they didn’t have a lot of money, Willis made everything he could imagine.

Willis did not like attending school. His mother Minnie used to chase him there. In the winter, he would walk over a hill, wait awhile, and walk back to tell his mother it was too cold to go.

When Willis wanted to ski to get to school, he carved a propeller out of oak. His worried father warned, “You’re going to kill yourself” without a guard. The next day, Willis discovered Roy had removed the propeller attached to his snow skis.

Willis (second to right) with his brother Charlie (right) and two sons Steve and Mark (left) playing guitar at the family cabin on Crane Lake. Contributed photo

After completing the eighth grade, Willis quit school. Roy, who was a mechanic in Evansville, taught him everything he needed to know. One of Willis’ teachers begged him to come back so he could graduate. Willis’ school friend told him the teacher “just wanted you back to tune up his Model A” while the other students were studying.

Willis had another friend who thought they were going to be drafted for the Korean War. His friend did not want to be in the United States Army. Although Willis did not have a specific military job in mind, he agreed to enlist in the United States Air Force with his friend. After marching for 14 days, Willis developed agonizing blisters on his feet. He was admitted into the hospital for four months and was medically discharged on May 20, 1952.

Willis in the Air Force (bottom bunk) in 1952. On the top bunk is Willis’ life-long best friend, Leroy Evavold. Contributed photo

Willis also met his wife through a friend. His buddy’s girlfriend asked her hospital co-worker Joanie to be Willis’ dance partner. Willis and Joanie danced together for approximately one year before being united in marriage on September 8, 1954.

Willis is a “full-blooded Swede.” Joanie’s ancestors were Polish and German.

“We mixed in real good,” Willis said.

Willis had worked several places as a mechanic. In 1958, he and Joanie moved to Urbank, Minn. where he owned and operated Nordlund Service. His previous clients trusted him and followed him to his new shop. According to his daughter-in-law, Bonnie, a popular saying was, “If Nordlund’s can’t fix it, no one can.” She described Willis as an honest and good-hearted man.

A local businessman who needed Willis to fix his company trucks helped him purchase the business because the bank wouldn’t approve Willis for a loan. When the bank saw Nordlund Service was thriving, they approached Willis and offered him another loan. Willis refused by saying, “You wouldn’t help me when I needed it.”

Joanie did the business’ bookkeeping and provided care for their seven sons: Jim, Tom, Steve, Mark, LeRoy, Paul, and Kenny. All seven of the boys became mechanics when they grew up. In fact, Kenny currently owns the Nordlund Service shop in Urbank.

Willis believes when he was working, they charged approximately $3 to $5 an hour for labor. One tire cost $14 to $15 and gasoline was 25 or 30 cents per gallon. Steve Nordlund remembers the vending machine he filled with soft drinks took dimes.

Since Nordlund Service was located next to their home, customers would stop by outside of business hours to ask for help. To get a break from round-the-clock requests, Willis built a cabin using lumber from his father’s sawmill on Crane Lake in Otter Tail County in the 1960s. His wife and his sons thoroughly enjoyed going there to fish.

Sadly, Joanie and Jim both died of cancer. Joanie passed away on October 20, 1993. Jim passed away on January 17, 2021. Since Joanie’s death, Willis has received one marriage proposal. Not being able to envision being married to anyone but Joanie, he declined.

A recent photo of Willis with his son and daughter-in-law, Steve and Bonnie Nordlund ( back), and granddaughter Lynn Barton. Contributed photo

Willis also collected and fixed up old cars. In addition to the mechanical work, he would paint them and sew the upholstery. He stored the cars in several pole barns. Sometimes, the cars arrived on hay racks in pieces. Other times, he would look for them by saying to Joanie, “Ma, let’s go rubbernecking.” Joanie was afraid they were going to end up in a ditch every time they went rubbernecking, which they did do on one occasion. Willis liked taking the different models he restored out for Sunday drives.

Willis’ other passion is music. Willis became interested in playing the guitar when his older sister got one she didn’t use. Willis also learned to play the violin, and he likes listening to his favorite country music artists. For many years he was in a band called the Urbank Greasers. The group played country music, polkas, and waltzes for birthdays, anniversaries, local festivals, and other special events. Willis never took a music lesson, so he played everything by ear. He “can’t read a note,” Steve said. Several guitars Willis made are displayed throughout his assisted living apartment. He enjoys making toys and matchstick sculptures, too. Using scrap wood that’s being thrown out, and tools he stores under his couch or in his closet, he can make or fix anything. Bonnie credits the staff for allowing him to be creative if he doesn’t break any of the fire codes making something there. “He’s just miraculous with his hands. There is no one like him,” she said.

Willis strumming his guitar at a recent get together at the family cabin he and his family built on Crane Lake in Otter Tail County. Contributed photo

Even though his hands don’t work as well as they used to and his eyesight is failing, Willis is still a happy go lucky guy. He is the longest living resident in his building. He plays solitaire, which Steve pointed out is easier to win when you can’t see the cards well. He likes to watch televised game shows, like Wheel of Fortune. He has a list of people he calls on a phone daily. He tells stories about things like the casino he traveled to and left before he got hooked on gambling or the bad advice someone gave him about eating butter before drinking too much alcohol. He also likes to tell the same joke every time they sit down to eat about a hired man who said after having three helpings at one meal that he didn’t work after supper. Willis says his last set of wheels is his mobility scooter that has stickers of his favorite car logo adhered to it.

Lynn Barton has fond memories of her grandfather. Even though he can’t always remember detailed information, she remembers him walking around with car grease from head to toe after being in the shop all day. She remembers walking through the pole barns with her cousins listening to stories about cars and watching the cars get pulled out of the pole barns after they were washed for a parade. Bonnie remembers Lynn trying to count all of Willis’ medals on his Lions Club vest. Lynn remembers looking through his extensive collection of music CDs and the spooky feeling she got as a child when he watched Twilight Zone on television. To her, Willis is and always will be considered a “gentle giant.”

Willis Nordlund, 95, passed away May 15, 2026 with loved ones by his side.